The US Navy’s amphibious assault force is failing to provide enough vessels for use by the US Marine Corps, with half of the fleet in poor condition and some ships having been unavailable for years at a time, according to a report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Published on 3 December 2024, the GAO report painted a concerning picture for a capability that is crucial to the ability of the US Marine Corps to move into theatre, with the US Navy mandated to maintain a 31-ship fleet to meet its requirements.
As of March 2024, half of the amphibious fleet “is in poor condition” and these ships were “not on track to meet their expected service lives”, the GAO report revealed.
While the US Navy and Marine Corps were working to agree on a ship availability goal, they had yet to complete a metrics-based analysis in support of the work, which the GAO states risked jeopardising the ability to align amphibious ship schedules with the USMC units that deploy on them.
“To save money, the Navy proposed early retirement for some ships and cancelled critical maintenance,” the GAO stated. “But the Navy is still relying on these ships—which haven’t been well-maintained—while it waits for new ones to be built. As a result, it will be hard to continue meeting the 31-ship requirement.”
There are currently 32 amphibious warfare ships in the fleet, one more than the minimum the US Navy is statutorily required to maintain.
US Navy cancelled planned maintenance
The GAO report identified factors that had contributed to the fleet’s “poor condition and reduced its availability for Marine Corps’ operations and training”, including spare parts challenges, reliability of ship systems, and cancelled maintenance.
Critically, the GAO found that the US Navy cancelled maintenance for ageing amphibious ships it planned to divest before completing the required waiver process.
Navy assessment of amphibious warfare fleet condition
In a bid to meet its 31-ship requirement moving forward, the US Navy was considering extending the service life for some ships. However, the GAO reported that such efforts would require up to $1bn per ship in funding, with six ships needing service life extensions in the next three decades amid rising ship construction costs and maintenance backlogs.
Much of the proposed solutions involved effective metric-based analysis to define amphibious ship availability goals, and updates to US Navy policy to clarify that it should not cancel maintenance when divesting ships before completing the waiver process, for vessels that had not yet fulfilled their expected service life.
From San Antonio, to America, Wasp, and more
On paper, the US Navy’s amphibious warfare fleet is a potent force, comprising the Wasp– and America-class amphibious assault ships.
Up to 11 America-class amphibious assault ships are planned, with two currently in service and a further two in build, including the first of the Flight I variants (USS Bourgainville and USS Fallujah), which will include a well deck. Ships 1 and 2 in the America class (USS America and USS Tripoli), dubbed Flight 0, do not include a well deck.
A total of eight Wasp-class vessels, officially classified as landing helicopter docks (LHD) were built, although the USS Bonhomme Richard was scrapped in 2021 after sustaining significant damage in a fire while undergoing maintenance.
In addition, the San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks augment the troop-carrying capability, with 13 vessels in service and several more on order or in build.
Other classes such as the 1990s-era Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ships (four vessels in service), and the older Whidbey Island-class LSDs, fill out the US Navy’s amphibious assault and transport capability.
The GAO report indicates the LSD fleet in particular is suffering significantly, with nine of the ten vessels in poor material condition.
