The US Navy accused of throwing money out the window with 50% of its fleet modernization budget wasted, i.e. 1.77 billion euros

$1.84 billion “wasted”: failures in the US Navy’s cruiser modernization program.

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently revealed that the U.S. Navy mismanaged $1.84 billion (€1.77 billion) since 2015 as part of the Ticonderoga-class cruiser rehabilitation program. This amount represents nearly half of the funds committed to modernize seven of these cruisers, large surface warships that play a crucial role in air defense.

Read also:

The US Navy in turmoil with this report which overwhelms it with its “disastrous” management

The report harshly criticizes the way the Navy planned and managed the modernization program. This includes a “lack of oversight” and issues such as schedule delays, unnecessary costs, and poor quality work. Additionally, four of the seven upgraded cruisers were removed from service before even being deployed, rendering the $1.84 billion investment largely useless.

This French arms titan has an ambitious plan to develop and conquer the biggest market in the world: the United States

Misallocated funds

The report details how funds were distributed among cruisers, with considerable sums spent on ships that were never deployed:

• USS Hue City : 161,15 millions de dollars
• USS Anzio: 250.54 million dollars
• USS Cowpens: $678.56 million
• USS Vicksburg : 745,05 millions de dollars

These expenses are all the more frustrating because the Navy had initially proposed retiring several cruisers to meet budget constraints, but Congress rejected that idea, choosing instead to fund modernization.

Recommendations for the future

In response to these findings, GAO made six recommendations to the Secretary of the Navy, including updating planning and oversight policies for future large-scale modernizations and assessing the causes of program problems to better anticipate them. in the future. Additionally, a comprehensive assessment of the operational implications of scrapping three modernized cruisers is requested for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

Wider context of operational challenges

This report is part of a broader context of challenges for the Navy, particularly regarding the maintenance of amphibious assault ships, essential for near-shore maritime operations and Marine deployments. Another GAO report noted that nearly half of these ships are generally unavailable, affecting exercises and deployments.

The German Navy intends to make the Baltic its sole preserve with a new generation of high-tech submarines equipped with state-of-the-art tracking systems

This article reviews a recent report that not only outlines the specific challenges of the US Navy’s cruiser modernization program, but also highlights the broader difficulties the Navy faces in managing its resources and possible waste. of 1.77 billion euros. These revelations could prompt significant reforms in the way modernization projects are planned and managed in the future.

Source : GAO

Post Views: 22