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// DOSSIER — submarine-maintenance-delays-cost-us-navy-billions
Submarine Maintenance Delays and Idle Time Cost U.S. Navy $3.4 Billion, GAO Reports
REL_TIME: 28 Aug 2026 03:12Z · LANG: EN
A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that maintenance delays and idle time for U.S. Navy attack submarines resulted in over 15,000 lost operational days and $3.4 billion in costs between fiscal years 2016 and 2025. Compounding active fleet maintenance backlogs are severe decommissioning delays for retired vessels. Due to limited shipyard dry dock capacity, 15 attack submarines are projected to enter inactive idle time between FY 2026 and FY 2030, accruing over 14,000 inactive days and an additional $3.1 billion in maintenance and crew support costs. The GAO recommended that the Navy evaluate alternative decommissioning options and establish a comprehensive inactivation plan to mitigate crew idle time and cost overruns, to which the Navy verbally concurred.
// Background
The U.S. Navy operates 44 attack submarines as of FY 2025, primarily consisting of Los Angeles-class and Virginia-class vessels. Submarine depot maintenance and reactor defueling are conducted across four public shipyards (Portsmouth, Norfolk, Puget Sound, Pearl Harbor) and two private yards (General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding). aging shipyard infrastructure, workforce shortages, supplier component delays, and dry dock constraints have caused extensive backlogs for both operational maintenance and ship decommissioning.
// Key Developments
- Maintenance backlogs and idle time cost the U.S. Navy $3.4 billion and caused over 15,000 lost operational days between FY 2016 and FY 2025.
- Without mitigation, 15 attack submarines will enter inactive idle time between FY 2026 and FY 2030, costing $3.1 billion across more than 14,000 inactive days.
- Active idle time costs average approximately $220,000 per day for Los Angeles-class submarines and over $237,000 per day for Virginia-class submarines.
- The USS Pasadena entered inactive status on Jan. 1, 2025, but shipyard constraints have delayed its decommissioning to Nov. 15, 2028, accumulating over $300 million in costs while remaining fully crewed.
- Virginia-class submarine production is averaging one vessel per year, half of the Navy's goal of two per year, due to material delays and labor shortages.
- The GAO issued two primary recommendations to evaluate alternative decommissioning options and reduce inactive idle time; the Navy verbally concurred without providing written comments.
// Timeline
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U.S. Navy loses over 15,000 operational submarine days and incurs $3.4 billion in idle time and maintenance delay costs.
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GAO issues a classified report on Navy submarine maintenance delays prior to publishing its public version.
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USS Pasadena enters inactive status to begin the decommissioning process.
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Defense News reports on the public release of the GAO submarine maintenance study.
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Earliest anticipated date for USS Pasadena to enter dry dock at Norfolk Naval Shipyard for decommissioning.
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15 attack submarines are projected to accumulate over 14,000 inactive idle days costing $3.1 billion without process mitigations.
// Perspectives
[Government Accountability Office (GAO)]
Critiques the Navy for failing to fully evaluate efficient decommissioning alternatives, warning that unmitigated idle time wastes billions of dollars and degrades fleet readiness.
[U.S. Navy]
Verbally concurred with GAO recommendations, while attempting to use inactive submarines like USS Pasadena for training platforms and exploring potential alternatives such as pier-side nuclear reactor defueling.
// Quotes
“Without mitigation, 15 attack submarines will enter inactive idle time from fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 2030 — during which time the Navy could incur more than 14,000 days of inactive idle time and $3.1 billion in costs to operate and support these inactive submarines.”
“Active idle time increases the strain on the heavily used sub fleet. It’s essentially a traffic jam — subs waiting to get into dry dock for depot maintenance.”
“During this time, the attack submarine is unable to be operational since its dive certification is expired, but is still fully crewed with sailors.”
