Navy Calls It Quits On Attack Submarine USS Boise’s Never Ending Overhaul
Summary
The U.S. Navy has officially decided to decommission the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Boise, ending a prolonged and troubled overhaul process that has stretched over a decade without completion. Despite spending approximately $800 million, the overhaul remains only 22% complete, with total estimated completion costs having ballooned to $3 billion, representing 65% of the cost of a brand-new Virginia-class submarine while offering only 20% of remaining service life. The submarine has been unable to operate since 2015 and lost its dive certification in 2017, spending years bouncing between Norfolk and Newport News Shipbuilding facilities due to funding disputes, scheduling conflicts, and shipyard availability issues. Navy leadership, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle and Navy Secretary John Phelan, framed the decision as a strategic reallocation of resources toward higher priorities, including the delivery of new Virginia and Columbia-class submarines and overall fleet readiness. The Boise saga highlights the U.S. Navy's deeper, systemic challenges with maintenance backlogs, inadequate shipyard capacity, and growing disparities in naval shipbuilding capability compared to China.
Key Takeaways
- 1. The Navy wasted approximately $800 million on USS Boise's overhaul, which was still only 22% complete after more than a decade of delays
- 2. Completing the overhaul would have cost an estimated $3 billion total, prompting leadership to cut losses and redirect funds to newer submarine programs
- 3. USS Boise has been non-operational since 2015 and lost its dive certification in 2017, rendering it militarily useless for nearly a decade
- 4. The decision reflects broader, systemic failures in U.S. naval shipyard capacity and maintenance backlogs that have plagued the Navy for over two decades
- 5. The Navy is shifting its acquisition and maintenance strategy under Secretary Phelan, canceling costly, delayed programs in favor of more fiscally responsible investments in fleet readiness