Navy decommissions nuclear-powered sub due to $800 million cost increase

The US Navy is retiring the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Boise after a decade of inactivity and soaring maintenance costs. Overhaul expenses reached 800 million dollars with minimal progress, prompting officials to redirect resources to more modern vessels and boost fleet readiness.

The United States Navy is proceeding with the inactivation of a nuclear-powered attack submarine from the Los Angeles-class after years of extended inactivity and escalating maintenance costs. The vessel, USS Boise, has been out of operational service for approximately a decade and has not returned to deployment following long-term overhaul complications.

The submarine lost its dive certification in 2017, which significantly restricted any possibility of resuming active duty in the fleet. Since that time, it has remained in a non-operational condition while undergoing incomplete modernization and repair efforts.

According to Navy leadership, the overhaul program for USS Boise has experienced substantial financial escalation, reaching close to 800 million dollars in accumulated costs. Despite this level of spending, only around 22 percent of the planned maintenance and upgrade work has been completed, indicating significant delays and inefficiencies in the execution of the project.

Officials assessed that continuing the refurbishment would further increase long-term expenditures. Estimates suggest that completing the remaining work could add approximately 1.9 billion dollars to the total lifecycle cost of the submarine. There is also uncertainty regarding whether the vessel could be returned to operational readiness by 2029, which had been considered the most recent projected timeline.

The submarine is currently located at a private shipyard in Virginia, where broader industrial backlogs have contributed to delays across multiple naval maintenance programs. These bottlenecks have affected the availability and repair timelines of various vessels in the fleet, limiting the Navy’s ability to return ships to service efficiently.

The decision to remove USS Boise from the active overhaul pipeline is part of a wider reassessment of naval programs. The Navy is evaluating ongoing projects as part of a modernization approach aligned with expanding and restructuring the fleet under a long-term strategic initiative known as the Golden Fleet concept. This initiative focuses on fleet expansion, modernization, and increased shipbuilding activity.

Navy leadership has characterized the situation surrounding USS Boise as a breakdown in program execution. The assessment emphasizes that continued investment in projects that do not progress effectively is not sustainable. The approach now being taken prioritizes reallocating resources toward vessels with higher readiness potential and faster return-to-service timelines.

The removal of USS Boise from the overhaul schedule is expected to allow shipyard labor and maintenance capacity to be redirected toward other submarines. Priority is being given to newer classes, including Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines, which are central to current naval modernization planning.

The Chief of Naval Operations has indicated that the decision supports efforts to improve resource allocation and operational readiness across the submarine fleet. While this action does not fully resolve broader maintenance delays within the Navy, it is intended to improve efficiency in ongoing repair and construction workflows.

The broader modernization strategy is supported by a significant increase in planned funding. The 2027 defense budget proposal allocates more than 65 billion dollars for shipbuilding programs, compared with less than 42 billion dollars in the previous year, which covered the construction of 19 new battle force ships.

This budget level represents a major expansion in naval investment and is described as a key component in improving fleet readiness and capability. Naval leadership has stated that securing approval for these funding levels is essential to achieving modernization goals.

Concerns have also been raised regarding the potential impact of a continuing resolution for future fiscal planning. Such a measure could limit the Navy’s ability to execute planned investments and slow down readiness improvements.

According to defense reporting, the current budget request represents one of the highest levels of shipbuilding funding since the early 1960s, reflecting the scale of ongoing restructuring efforts within the United States naval forces.

Sources:

• Navy scraps USS Boise submarine overhaul after $800 million and 11 years out of service
• US Navy ends USS Boise submarine overhaul after price tag soars
• Navy announces inactivation of USS Boise (SSN 764)
• Navy takes nuclear-powered sub offline after $800 million cost run-up

Author: Ethan Caldwell
Ethan Caldwell is an experienced reporter with 10 years covering international news. He specializes in politics and economics, with strong investigative journalism and analytical writing skills.