US Navy backlogs could leave over a dozen submarines sitting idle for years, costing $3 billion, watchdog says

Severe backlogs could leave over a dozen US Navy attack submarines awaiting decommissioning sitting idle for more than 14,000 days through the end of the decade, and cost the sea service over $3 billion, according to a new watchdog report.

Navy maintenance delays have already cost the sea service billions of dollars and sidelined active attack submarines for thousands of operational days, affecting fleet readiness.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog, said: “Over the last 10 years, the US Navy has lost more than 15,000 operational days due to maintenance delays and idle time on active attack…