The US Navy has lost the equivalent of 17 ships for operational tasking this year due to maintenance backlogs and delays in repair, according to an analysis from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released Wednesday.
“For fiscal years 2012-2018, our analysis for key portions of the Navy fleet shows that 30 percent of Navy maintenance was completed on time, leading to more than 27,000 days in which ships were delayed and unavailable for training and operations,” the report, which was presented to a joint Navy and Marine Corps hearing before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittees on Seapower and Readiness, reads.