Attack submarine USS Virginia is shown here going in for maintenance in Maine in 2021. About a third of the attack submarine force is now in maintenance, the CBO reported. (US Navy)
The US Navy (USN) will need to improve its ship maintenance performance if the service wants to meet its desired fleet size, according to a recent report from the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The USN wants to achieve a fleet of 381 battle force ships and 134 unmanned surface and undersea vessels for a total force of 515 naval platforms, the CBO noted in its report, An Analysis of the Navy's 2025 Shipbuilding Plan, released on 6 January.
“The navy wants to put more offensive capability – primarily missiles and unmanned systems – on a greater number of ships than it currently has,” the CBO pointed out.
“Doing so would both provide a task force commander with more ships capable of offensive operations and make it more difficult for an opponent to destroy the fleet's offensive capability,” the CBO said. “If fully implemented, the plan would eventually result in the fleet being larger than it has been at any time since 2001. However, if the navy is unable to reduce the maintenance delays that it has been experiencing for more than a decade, it would not be able to deploy as many ships as achieving its 381-ship goal would suggest.”
For example, the CBO noted that the navy would like to have no more than 20% of its nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) in maintenance or awaiting maintenance.
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