50% of Navy’s Amphibious Ships In Dire Condition, Report Claims

The readiness of the Navy's fleet of 32 amphibious warfare ships—critical for rapidly projecting U.S. power worldwide—is in dire shape, according to a scathing report issued this month, Don Jacobson reported for United Press International (UPI).

As of March, fully half of these ships were in poor operating condition. I Photo: National Museum of the U.S. Navy

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that the rapid deployment force used by the U.S. Marine Corps to respond to global hotspots is severely compromised due to a maintenance backlog.

As of March, fully half of these ships were in poor operating condition.

The GAO report, issued on December 5 under the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, strongly warned that the Marines' ability to execute missions is at risk.

"Amphibious warfare ships are critical for Marine Corps missions, but the Navy has struggled to ensure they are available for operations and training," the report stated. "In some cases, ships in the amphibious fleet have not been available for years at a time."

This comes despite repeated warnings from Marine Corps leaders regarding the fleet's condition and the Navy’s authorization of nearly $10 billion to replace aging ships. However, the GAO noted that maintenance on the existing fleet has been deferred, further exacerbating the issue.