Congress is concerned about the increase in the share of incapacitated nuclear submarines in the US Navy to 40%

In fiscal year 2023, 37% (18 out of 49) of the US Navy’s multipurpose nuclear submarines (SSNs or SSNs in the American classification) are out of action for repairs or awaiting repairs. This is almost twice as much as allowed by existing regulations and may not be enough to contain China, says in a report by the US Congressional Research Service.

In 2012, only 11 out of 53 such submarines (21%) were under repair or were waiting for it, in 2014 – 13 out of 53 (or 28%), in 2020 – 10 out of 50 (30%). At the same time, at the end of 2020, the number of full-time ICAPLs in the US Navy was half that at the peak in 1987 (98) by the end of the Cold War. The report notes that the increase in the number of boats withdrawn for repair is due “to an insufficient number of workers and limited production capacity at four state-owned naval shipyards, which are the main facilities for overhaul and maintenance work.”