WASHINGTON — Maintenance delays and “idle time” for Navy attack submarines have cost the service $3.4 billion over the past decade, and the problem is likely to persist for years to come, according to a government watchdog.
“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,” the Government Accountability Office wrote in a report published today. “The U.S. Navy has not fully evaluated alternative options to more efficiently decommission attack submarines and develop and implement an inactivation plan that could allow them to reduce inactive idle time for crews and save billions.”
The report, a public version of a classified edition issued in July, said readiness data showed that the Navy has been suffering a significant rise in idle times for boats since 2015 — both for would-be active subs and those destined for decommissioning. GAO offered the example of the USS Pasadena, which entered inactive status on Jan. 1, 2025 in order to be decommissioned, but the actual decommissioning isn’t expected to take place before Nov. 15, 2028 “due to shipyard constraints.”
“During this time, the attack submarine is unable to be operational since its dive certification is expired, but is still fully crewed with sailors,” GAO wrote.
Navy officials told GAO that the service is attempting to make the best of the situation by using the Pasadena as a training platform, according to the report.
“However,” GAO added, “this extended delay is costing the U.S. Navy over $300 million in operating and support costs over its nearly 4 year inactive idle period, according to our analysis.”
GAO also chided the Navy for the pace of delivery for Virginia-class attack subs, saying the one produced per year is half the service’s two-a-year goal. “Late material deliveries from suppliers and limited availability of experienced workers due to competition in the labor market drive these trends,” GAO said.
GAO credited the Navy with making “significant progress” in shrinking idle time for otherwise active subs. But the report said idle time for to-be-decommissioned subs “has grown and will continue to worsen” as Los Angeles-class subs are planned to end their service lives over the next five years.
The report said the Navy had “examined some opportunities to alleviate inactive idle times” but said the alternatives had not been fully evaluated. GAO recommended the service more fully investigate those options, as well as a broader plan “for attack submarine inactivation that reduces inactive idle time for crews and submarines.”
GAO reported that the Navy did not respond to the recommendations in writing but “verbally concurred.”
