The U.S. Navy has lost more than 15,000 submarine operating days over the past decade, and now one of its aging attack submarines is being pulled from service early so its money can go toward building newer ones.
Quick Take
- The Navy will inactivate the USS Boise, a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, and shift its overhaul funds toward newer submarine production.
- A government watchdog found the Navy lost over 15,000 operational days and roughly $3.4 billion to maintenance delays and idle submarines over 10 years.
- Only about 11% of attack submarine maintenance at public shipyards finished on time, and wait times have gotten longer since 2020.
- Of 62 Los Angeles-class submarines ever built, 42 have already been retired as the Navy shifts toward the newer Virginia-class.
- The Navy is extending the life of a handful of older submarines even as it retires others, raising questions about how those decisions get made.
Boise Taken Out Of Service To Save Money And Time
The Department of the Navy announced on April 10, 2026, that it would inactivate the USS Boise (SSN 764), a Los Angeles-class attack submarine. The Navy said money and workers that were set to overhaul Boise would instead go toward speeding up delivery of newer submarines. The announcement did not say the submarine’s nuclear reactor had reached the end of its life.
Once a submarine is marked for retirement, it does not simply sail off. It must wait, sometimes for years, until shipyard space opens up to remove its nuclear fuel safely. A government report found that during this wait, the submarine sits idle and gives the Navy zero combat power, even though it still costs money to maintain and guard.
A Decade Of Delays Adds Up To Billions Lost
The Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog agency, published a report on August 27, 2026, that tracked this problem closely. Over the last 10 years, the Navy lost more than 15,000 operational days to maintenance delays and submarines sitting idle. The report put the cost of those lost days at about $3.4 billion.
The watchdog also found that public shipyards finished attack submarine maintenance on time only about 11% of the time. Average maintenance periods grew from 744 days between 2016 and 2020 to 809 days between 2021 and 2025. Those numbers show a shipbuilding system struggling to keep pace, regardless of how any single submarine’s retirement is explained to the public.
An Aging Fleet Gives Way To Newer Submarines
The Boise decision fits into a much larger shift already underway. The Congressional Research Service, which advises Congress, reports that 42 of the Navy’s 62 Los Angeles-class submarines had already been retired by the start of fiscal year 2026. The Navy has been buying Virginia-class submarines to replace them since 1998.
Not every older submarine is being retired, though. The research service also reports the Navy planned to refuel and extend the life of one aging Los Angeles-class boat, and said the same approach could apply to as many as five submarines total. That means age alone does not automatically take a submarine out of service, and some boats are judged fit to keep running longer than others.
The watchdog’s projections suggest the problem will not fade soon. Without changes, it expects more than 14,000 additional lost operational days and $3.1 billion in added costs between fiscal years 2026 and 2030. That means the same shipyard bottlenecks blamed for pushing some submarines into early retirement could also slow down the arrival of the newer submarines meant to replace them.
The Navy has not published detailed figures on exactly how many new submarines it needs to replace each retiring boat, or when those replacements will be ready for duty. What is documented is a fleet in transition: aging submarines waiting to be defueled, newer ones being built, and a maintenance system that has struggled for years to keep up with either job on schedule.
Sources:
19fortyfive.com, gao.gov, congress.gov
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