Navy Calls It Quits On Attack Submarine USS Boise’s Never Ending Overhaul

US Navy abandons plans to return Los Angeles class attack submarine USS Boise to active duty. This puts an end to the saga of the boat’s still-unfinished major overhaul, which has been going on for more than a decade. He became the Navy’s poster boy at the time. Anxious struggles to handle major maintenance tasksAside from larger concerns about its availability, or lack thereof, military shipyard capacity In the United States.

Navy announced his decision disable Boise, It was first opened in 1992 earlier today.

“After rigorous, data-driven analysis, we made the difficult but necessary decision to neutralize the USS. Boise“This strategic move allows us to reallocate America’s highly skilled workforce to our highest priorities: delivering new services,” Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle, Chief of Naval Operations, the agency’s top officer, said in a statement. Virginia And Colombia class submarines and improving the readiness of the existing fleet. “We owe it to our Sailors and our nation to make these tough calls to build a more capable and ready Navy.”

“This move is part of the Navy’s broader, data-driven initiative to optimize fleet composition, ensuring every dollar is invested in capabilities that directly contribute to maintaining a decisive combat advantage,” the service said. It was also said in a press release. “Funds and personnel related to the planned overhaul of the USS Boise “We will be directed to support other Navy priorities, including the timely delivery of America’s submarine capability.”

To date, the Navy has spent nearly $800 million on Boise’s overhaul, and only 22 percent of it is complete. service also said Semaphore. The estimated total cost of completing the maintenance has risen to $3 billion. accordingly Fox News.

Secretary of the Navy John Phelan also said, “At some point you cut your losses and move on.” said Fox News in an interview ahead of today’s announcement. “ Boise represents 65% of the cost of a new Virginia “Although it is a class submarine, it only covers 20% of its remaining service life.”

The Navy had originally planned Boise It was due to begin its overhaul in 2013, but the timeline was repeatedly postponed, mainly due to the shipyard’s unavailability. The submarine has not sailed since returning from its last voyage in January 2015. The boat was deemed unable to conduct normal operations until 2016 and officially lost its diving certification the following year.

Navy moved Boise From its home port in Norfolk, Virginia, at Newport News Shipbuilding’s facilities in 2018. Newport News Shipbuilding is a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII).

The submarine returned to Norfolk the following year due to competing funding priorities. She returned to Newport News in 2020, but did not enter a dry dock there until 2021, after which limited maintenance work began. The full overhaul was later delayed further due to budget issues. The official contract was signed only in 2024.

As of last year, the Navy was still trying to complete it. BoiseThe overhaul and return to the fleet was expected to occur in 2029. At this point the submarine would have spent more than a third of its service life in port.

Overall size of the navy Los Angeles The attack submarine force has already been declining steadily for years as the service becomes more modern and capable Virginia class types. Navy commissioned 62 people Los Angeles They were class boats between 1976 and 1996, and today 23 of them are in service.

As noted, the Navy’s struggles Boise They reflect larger and more serious problems that have long challenged the service’s ability to meet even peacetime operational demands. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2018 published a report He said the Navy has more than two decades of operational time in its submarine fleets due to maintenance deficiencies.

These are concerns that will only increase in the event of a large-scale conflict, especially one with China in the Pacific. For years, TWZ It was also ringing the alarm on the interconnected issue of the decline of the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding capacity in general, inequality China has become massive with state-run enterprises.

The Navy, with support from Congress, has been trying to take steps to reverse these trends in recent years, including increasingly drawing on foreign shipyard capacity. The second Trump administration was established through Navy Secretary Phelan. particularly open about efforts to shake down how the service acquires and maintains ships, and how it generally does business outside of that. This includes, in particular, current cancellation. constellation You can read more about the class frigate program, which has been beset by major delays and rising costs, here. The Navy is touting efforts to avoid similar pitfalls with new shipbuilding programs such as the FF(X) frigate and Medium Landing Craft.

Speaking generally about today’s announcement, Phelan said, “I think by ending these programs we’re sending a message that we’re not going to continue to send good money after bad investments, and that we’re going to try to make prudent economic decisions that are in the best interest of the fleet and the force.” Boise, accordingly Semaphore.

It remains to be seen how successful the Navy will be in its broader efforts to turn things around when it comes to shipbuilding and maintenance, but USS BoiseThe increasingly sad story of is now coming to an end.

UPDATE: 2:10 PM EDT –

Todd Corillo, HII spokesman for the Newport News Shipbuilding division, currently provided: TWZ with the following expression:

“We have been informed of the U.S. Navy’s decision to halt engineering overhaul (EOH) work on the USS. Boise (SSN 764). We will work with the Navy to implement this decision in an efficient and cost-effective manner. We anticipate no impact on our workforce and transition shipbuilders currently assigned to the USS. Boise To other work in progress at Newport News Shipbuilding.

“We understand the importance of a strong submarine force to our national security. As our work on the USS continues Boise “But our commitment to ensuring that our nation maintains our undersea naval superiority will not end,” he said.

Contact the writer: joe@twz.com