Through a report published on Tuesday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that the U.S. Navy wasted $1.84 billion on the failed modernization and repair program for part of its aging fleet of Ticonderoga-class cruisers. The report noted that many of the ships selected for the program were retired before their modernization was completed. This ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful plan has cost the Navy approximately $3.7 billion so far to modernize a total of seven ships, with only three expected to be operationally restored.
Quoting a segment from the GAO report: “The Navy disposed of four of the cruisers before completing their modernization, providing no operational value to the fleet and wasting $1.84 billion that had already been spent on their upgrades. The Navy decided to divest these ships partly due to insufficient funding to finish them, according to Navy officials (…) The three cruisers that completed or are planned to complete modernization were initially scheduled for just one deployment before being divested, but the Navy has since extended their service life and plans to decommission them by fiscal year 2030.”
It is worth recalling that the modernization program for the Ticonderoga-class cruisers began in 2012, when the U.S. Congress rejected the Navy’s plans to retire and dismantle the ships in the fleet. In response, the Navy decided that a total of eleven cruisers would undergo modernization to remain operational through the next decade.
The list of eleven ships was later reduced to just seven: USS Cowpens (CG-63), USS Gettysburg (CG-64), USS Vicksburg (CG-69), USS Chosin (CG-65), USS Anzio (CG-68), USS Cape St. George, and USS Hué City (CG-66). According to the GAO report, poor contractor performance and limited oversight from the Navy during the program resulted in only the Gettysburg, Chosin, and Cape St. George being considered for eventual return to service, with the last still undergoing modernization. This accounts for the nearly $2 billion loss cited earlier.
Providing further details, the report stated: “Although the Navy used more than $2 billion in procurement funds for cruiser modernization, it did not implement standard planning and oversight tools typical of major high-cost defense acquisition programs by following established acquisition pathways because this was not categorized as an acquisition program (…) The Navy faced challenges in overseeing its efforts to maintain and modernize the cruisers and other surface ships, partly because key stakeholders lacked clear roles to coordinate complex work packages during maintenance and modernization periods.” These issues were attributed to the fact that oversight responsibilities were managed not by the fleets operating the cruisers, but by the Naval Sea Systems Command, complicating the chain of command.
Additionally, criticism was directed at the contractors’ poor performance, which not only led to cost overruns but also involved the use of unauthorized materials during the modernization process. A notable example cited was the USS Vicksburg, where an attempt to install a pressurized sleeve around the ship’s sonar failed due to pressure leaks in cables running from the sonar dome to other parts of the ship. To address this issue, BAE Systems’ Norfolk shipyard “used unauthorized materials, such as plastic film, standard off-the-shelf adhesive tape, expanding foam, and a sealant product advertised on television.”
Finally, following the release of the report and its accompanying recommendations, the U.S. Navy has been compelled to rethink its procedures moving forward. For now, it has stated that it agrees with all six recommendations made and is working on each point to avoid similar problems in the future.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
