U.S. Navy to deactivate USS Boise after more than a decade waiting for overhaul
The United States Navy has announced the inactivation of the USS Boise (SSN-764), a nuclear-powered attack submarine of the Los Angeles class that spent more than ten years waiting for a major overhaul and ultimately became one of the most visible symbols of the maintenance crisis in the American submarine force.
The announcement was made on Friday (10) and confirms that the vessel, currently in dry dock at HII Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, will not return to active service. Instead, the Navy plans to redirect financial resources, specialized labor, and industrial capacity to other priority programs, such as the construction of Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, as well as restoring the readiness of the current fleet.
USS Boise, now 34 years old, had been scheduled for a routine overhaul since fiscal year 2016. However, the submarine remained idle for years while waiting for space at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. During this period, it lost its dive certification in 2017, further worsening its operational condition.
After a long wait at the piers, the Navy decided to shift the work to the private sector and turned to HII’s shipyard in Newport News. Boise was towed to the site in 2018, returned to Naval Station Norfolk, and then went back again to Newport News in 2020. Even so, the program continued to drag on until, in 2024, the Navy signed a $1.2 billion contract with HII to carry out the overhaul. Altogether, investments in the submarine reached around $1.6 billion.
Even with that amount already committed, the Navy concluded that it was no longer worth continuing the restoration of a vessel that had remained inactive for more than a decade. The service assessed that the cost of repair, given the long period of inactivity and other demands on the force, was no longer justified.
In a statement, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Daryl Caudle, said the decision will allow efforts to be focused on the most important programs for U.S. submarine capability. According to him, the move will free up highly skilled workers to accelerate the delivery of new submarines and improve the availability of those already in operation.
The Navy also stated that financial resources and personnel previously assigned to USS Boise will be redistributed to other priorities, with a focus on the timely delivery of U.S. submarine capability.
With this decision, USS Boise brings an end to a long period of uncertainty and becomes a symbol not only of the U.S. Navy’s maintenance crisis but also of the growing pressure on the American shipbuilding industry to sustain the expansion and readiness of its submarine force.
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Source and images: usni.org | DVIDS. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
