Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

About 40% of US attack submarines are in repair, double Navy estimates

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 12 Jul 2023 00:01
  • 3 Shares
3 Min Read

The Naval Sea Systems Command believes that “planning, material availability, and shipyard execution" is to blame, as per a statement issued in response to the new data.

  • x
  • USS San Juan off the coast of Iceland on April 26, year unknown. (US Embassy Reykjavik)
    USS San Juan off the coast of Iceland on April 26, year unknown (US Embassy Reykjavik)

According to previously undisclosed data by the US Navy published by the Congressional Research Service, 18 of the 49 attack submarines - 37% - were out of commission and in repair just this year - which is double what the Navy estimated. 

This data leaves the US at a high disadvantage against China’s quantitatively superior fleet.

CRS naval analyst Ronald O’Rourke said in a report on July 6 that the maintenance backlog has “substantially reduced” the number of nuclear submarines that are considered operational at any moment, which cuts the “force’s capacity for meeting day-to-day mission demands and potentially putting increased operational pressure” on submarines currently in service. 

In 2017, the number was at 28% overall and 33% in 2022 and below the industry best practice of 20%.

Read next: US Navy launches drug trafficking probe aboard Ronald Reagan in Japan 

The Naval Sea Systems Command believes that “planning, material availability, and shipyard execution" is to blame, as per a statement issued in response to the new data, adding that the service launched several initiatives to tackle “primary maintenance delay” drivers.

Related News

Two nuclear-powered submarines to enter Russian Navy in 2023: Official

'Banging' sounds heard during search for missing Titanic submarine

The Command released an updated maintenance backlog status, claiming that 16 of 49 subs, or 32%, were in repair as of late June.

A loss of more than 28 years' worth of operation

The US has occasionally shown off its submarines but increasingly did so the last year with publicized port visits in the Arabian Sea, at Diego Garcia, at Gibraltar, and in the Atlantic. The most recent showcase was in June during the appearance of the guided-missile submarine USS Michigan in Busan, South Korea.

One example of the submarines in repair is the USS Connecticut, which is one of three premier Seawolf-class subs after it hit an underwater mountain in the South China Sea almost two years ago and is not due for operation until 2026 at the earliest.

The fiscal year 2015 was considered the best year for attack submarine availability since only 19% - or 10 of the then 53 subs - were in repair according to data in a June 13 Navy information paper.

Last year, the Government Accountability Office announced that the Navy was at a loss of 10,363 operational days from 2008 through 2018, which is equal to more than 28 years “as a result of delays in getting into and out of the shipyards.”

GAO Spokesperson Chuck Young said the newly released statistics “are not surprising considering how the shipyards have been struggling to support the fleet with old facilities and inefficient layouts”.  

The Navy is currently five years into a 20-year plan to restructure the four available shipyards, but Young claims that it still doesn’t have reliable cost or schedule estimates five years after the improvement effort began, and a better prediction won't be available until 2025.

Read next: China to start live-fire exercise as US hyper-militarizes the region

  • submarines
  • US
  • US Navy

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS