GAO warns Navy shipyard overhaul will exceed $200 billion and add 50 years
A GAO report says the Navy’s shipyard modernization will cost over $200 billion and take more than five decades longer than originally planned.
The Government Accountability Office has found that the Navy’s Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program will far exceed its original cost and timeline projections, with expenses projected to surpass $200 billion and the execution period extended by more than 50 years. Initiated in 2018 to address deteriorating conditions at Norfolk, Pearl Harbor, Portsmouth and Puget Sound shipyards, the effort has been hampered by decades-old infrastructure, long-deferred maintenance, and unexpected challenges such as seismic retrofitting needs at Puget Sound.
The report notes that planning and cost estimation took years longer than anticipated, contributing to a maintenance backlog that once kept the USS Boise submarine out of service for about a decade. GAO recommends that Congress mandate the Navy to deliver consolidated, standardized annual updates on cost and schedule, review requirements and resources, and clarify organizational responsibilities. The Navy has agreed with the recommendations but did not provide comment.
Why it matters
The soaring cost and delay threaten the Navy’s ability to maintain critical vessels and could strain defense budgets.
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