The Navy spent an estimated $4.2 billion over 10 years supporting attack submarines delayed in maintenance or sitting idle while waiting for shipyard capacity, according to an Aug. 27 Government Accountability Office report.
The GAO report found that maintenance delays and idle time affected the readiness of the Navy’s 44 attack submarines, which included 20 Los Angeles-class and 24 Virginia-class boats as of fiscal year 2025.
From fiscal years 2016 through 2025, the Navy lost more than 15,000 operational days because of depot maintenance delays and idle time involving active submarines. The service spent an estimated $3.4 billion to crew, maintain and support those vessels while they provided no operational capability…