The US Navy May Want More Ships But Its Repair And Maintenance Yards Are Crumbling

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) sits in dry dock during a 14-month scheduled docking planned incremental availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Wesley J. Breedlove  

Defense One: As Navy Pushes for More Ships, Experts Warn Repair Yards Are Crumbling 

One congressman suggests contracting ship maintenance work to private yards or even working with allies. As the U.S. Navy struggles to enlarge its fleet, experts are warning that the service’s four public maintenance yards are ill-equipped to repair even the ships it currently has. 

These shipyards in Virginia, Maine, Washington state, and Hawaii don’t have enough workers, drydocks and modern infrastructure and equipment, these experts say. 

“[R]egardless of what the future size and composition of the Navy is going to be, the Navy needs to have the support and the maintenance infrastructure to ensure it can maintain that fleet now and in the future,” Diana Maurer, director of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office’s Defense Capabilities and Management team, said Wednesday at a Heritage Foundation event. 

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Can anyone say "poor planning" from the Pentagon?

from War News Updates https://ift.tt/3ijw0vh