Hamburg account in Washington
Four intertidal ships have been decommissioned this year—Little Rock, Milwaukee, Sioux City and Detroit. The ships served for less than ten years. The admirals have hope that they can be sold to one of the allies. But the question remains open for now.
Next year, the fleet wants to decommission two more Independence-class littoral ships - Jackson and Montgomery, with subsequent sale abroad. However, it is difficult to predict whether Congress will allow it, since those sitting there are guided by their own logic, understandable only to them, or the lack thereof.
Five Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers were written off. The admirals also wanted to decommission the Vicksburg, but Congress did not allow it because it had recently undergone expensive repairs, about $600 million. The Navy plans to put it on the 2024 retirement list. We'll see what comes of this. There are already four Tikis on this list, and there may be room for a fifth.
The Arli Bjork guided missile destroyer is due to be decommissioned this year, but its service life has been extended until next year. Another four Bjerks are due to be decommissioned in 2024, but their service life has been extended until 2026.
Similarly, the Nimitz aircraft carrier was supposed to be decommissioned this year, but its operation was extended until next year. Although, most likely, it will spend most of this year under repair. The planned amounts are not very large, about $250 million, but it can be extended over six months.
The second ship of the Dwight Eisenhower series is due to be decommissioned in 2024, but its service has also been extended until 2026. The volume of repair work on it will be greater, the cost will be about $600 million, and the repair time will be correspondingly the same.
It is possible that they, and possibly other aircraft carriers, will have their service lives extended even further, since the Gerald Ford-class aircraft carrier program is very far behind schedule.
In addition, the situation with the carrier-based air group remains unclear. The Ford, which was originally built to carry the F-35, went to sea with the old Hornets. "Theodore Roosevelt" during repairs underwent conversion to the F-35, and received its old air group with the F-18. Moreover, the navy has ordered another batch of “superhornets”.
The Pentagon has not commented on the current situation. But in general, the shift in the dates for the entry into service of new aircraft carriers entails problems with the repair of old ones; schedules there are also violated, for a variety of reasons.
In May of this year, the George Washington left repairs. It stood in repair for six years, instead of the planned four. Its place in the dock was taken by “John Stennis”, approximately until May 2025, and then by “Harry Truman” - also for two years, unless any cataclysms occur.
Following that is the Ronald Reagan, whose forward deployment to Japan is due to end in 2023. It will also be in dire need of major repairs, since periodic maintenance in Yokosuka is not normal repairs. On September 29, “Ronald Reagan” left Yokosuka. His departure to sea was delayed six times over 11 days for unknown reasons. It is unknown when another aircraft carrier will arrive to replace the Reagan. At the moment, there is not a single American aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Navy wanted to decommission two Island-class UDCs this year, but, again, Congress did not allow it. Since the UDC San Antonio program is still stuck on the eighth building. No money has been allocated for construction in 2024.
The America-class amphibious assault ship program is also far behind schedule, especially since significant changes are being made to the project as construction progresses. It is quite possible that changes will be made to the project in the future, since the Pentagon themselves cannot decide what they want. Either a UDC or a light aircraft carrier. As practice shows, in such cases everything turns out badly.
The fourth ship in the series, the Fallujah, was officially christened, on which changes to the original design took place: from a light aircraft carrier back to a UDC. Although a third deck lift has been added in addition to the two side lifts. It seems that the work of the air group has been improved, but the docking camera has been returned. Thus, the volumes for Marines and pilots were significantly reduced.
Well, as icing on the cake, there is talk that the last five Ohio-class SSBNs will have their service lives extended to 2027 and beyond, since the Columbia-class SSBN program is also far behind schedule. What American submariners think about this is unknown. The purchase of the first boat was financed from the 2021 budget. The purchase of the second is expected from the 2024 budget. The pace of construction was planned at one boat per year. But for now it is clear that the construction does not fit into the deadlines set by the Ohio-class SSBN decommissioning schedule.
How big the lag is is unknown. There are very strong doubts in Congress that the first boat will go on combat patrol in 2031, as planned.
The second is a fairly strong suspicion that the program will become more expensive over time. And what decision will be made: either to reduce the series or to allocate additional funding, is difficult to say, since the financial and economic situation in the United States is, to put it mildly, very difficult. Additional funding can be allocated only on the condition that it has to be taken from someone else.
These are the overall results of the year that is ending.
It should be noted that the Navy generally wanted to write off 39 combat and support units. Congress, which is guided only by considerations understandable to itself, has greatly reduced the list. However, the number of decommissioned ships is still greater than those entering service. The naval arms race with China somehow did not work out.
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