US Navy not ready to repair ships damaged in ‘great power conflict’ with China or Russia, watchdog reports

US Government Accountability Office reports shortfalls in US Navy's wartime battle-damage repair capabilities

The US Navy put decreased emphasis on maintaining this capability after the Cold War

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Last year, the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard was gutted by a fire. The US Navy made the decision to scrap the ship rather than repair it. File photo: AFP

Published: 1:06pm, 4 Jun 2021Updated: 1:06pm, 4 Jun 2021

The US Navy is not ready to do repairs on vessels damaged in battle with a great-power rival like China or Russia, a US government watchdog reported.

“The ability to repair and maintain ships plays a critical role in sustaining Navy readiness,” the Government Accountability Office said in a new report, but that critical capability is not currently where it needs to be, especially when it comes to fixing ships damaged in combat and getting them back into the fight.

The US Navy has not needed to quickly repair ships damaged in a great-power conflict since World War II, when warships were less advanced and complex than today's modern vessels and the US had a much more robust industrial capacity.

After the end of the Cold War, the service shifted its focus from wartime repairs to peacetime maintenance, reducing the number of public shipyards and divesting of some of its important naval repair assets.

“The rise of 21st century adversaries capable of producing high-end threats in warfare – referred to as great power competitors – revives the need for the Navy to re-examine its battle damage repair capability to ensure it is ready for potential conflict,” the GAO report said.

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