Submarine maintenance delays saw ‘significant’ improvements in FY26, sub czar says
WASHINGTON — Submarine maintenance delays improved in fiscal 2026, with a more than 600-day drop in maintenance delays from previous years, according to the Pentagon’s first-ever submarine czar.
Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher, the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager (DPRM) for Submarines, said that while the service faced roughly 1,400 days of maintenance delay for submarines in both FY24 and FY25, that number was down to 780 in FY26.
“I want to highlight the significant reduction in days of maintenance delay,” Gaucher said Thursday at the Naval Submarine League Annual Symposium. “That’s more than 40 percent improvement.”
“And I attribute a significant part of this to investments made in Virginia-class spare parts over the past few years. … I expect maintenance delays will drop further in fiscal year ‘27 to around 500 days,” he continued.
Specifically, Gaucher pointed to the Virginia-class submarines John Warner and Illinois, which will be delivered for depot maintenance in a “few weeks.” While both are late for delivery in comparison to their original schedules, they are “several months early to their re-baseline schedules, and that’s something we were not even able to come close to doing several years ago,” according to Gaucher.
The service needed to update the delivery schedules, or “re-baseline,” on several occasions, Gaucher said. “So getting early to the re-baseline is a huge mark of progress. And as of today, every fast attack submarine in Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is on plan, with several — I dare say — tracking early to plan.”
The Navy has routinely suffered from submarine maintenance delays, and an August Government Accountability Office report determined public shipyards, which perform maintenance on nuclear-powered vessels like submarines, completed only 11 percent of submarine depot maintenance periods on schedule between FY16-25.
The U.S. Navy reported a significant reduction in submarine maintenance delays, dropping from 1,400 days in FY24 and FY25 to 780 days in FY26. Vice Adm. Rob Gaucher attributed this improvement to investments in Virginia-class spare parts and expects further reductions to around 500 days in FY27. The submarines John Warner and Illinois are set for depot maintenance soon, marking progress in the Navy's logistics operations.
- Submarine maintenance delays dropped from 1,400 days in FY24 and FY25 to 780 days in FY26.
- Investments in Virginia-class spare parts contributed to the reduction in delays.
- The Navy expects maintenance delays to further decrease to around 500 days in FY27.
- John Warner and Illinois submarines are scheduled for depot maintenance soon.
- Every fast attack submarine in Portsmouth and Pearl Harbor is on plan, with some tracking early.