According to information released by the Congressional Research Service, ship-building delays are responsible for over a third of U.S. submarines being inactive.
Of the U.S. Navy’s 49 attack submarines, 18, or 37 percent, are currently out of commission for repairs.
This number has increased from 12 submarines a decade ago.
The Congressional Research Service attributes this backlog to a lack of workers, facility limitations at naval shipyards, and supply chain issues.
As a result of these delays, the Navy’s capacity to fulfill day-to-day mission demands has been reduced, potentially placing additional operational pressure on active submarines.
This statistic reveals the significant level of unpreparedness of the U.S. Navy for a potential conflict with China.
The U.S. Naval Institute previously reported that China’s Navy is currently the largest in the world and is projected to expand to 440 “battle force” ships by 2030, while the United States is expected to have 290 battle force ships by the same year.
Recent Pentagon war games have indicated that the United States is ill-prepared for a potentially devastating conflict with China.
A senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, Gordon Chang, expressed last month that the United States is not adequately equipped to confront China.
He highlighted that the issue extends beyond the size of the respective navies, as China possesses weapons that the United States lacks and has no current defenses against.
Multiple war game reports indicate that if China were to invade Taiwan, the United States would enter the conflict to defend the democratic island. The United States would rapidly deplete its “key munitions” within a few days.
Additionally, the nation would suffer significant losses, including thousands of servicemembers, dozens of ships, and hundreds of aircraft.
Moreover, Taiwan’s economy would be severely impacted, facing devastation resulting from a hypothetical conflict.
In the 2024 budget proposal by the Biden administration, substantial navel budget cuts were requested, along with the premature retirement of two combat vessels and eight ships, according to a Washington Free Beacon article.
This premature retirement would result in removing over 600 vertical missile launch systems.
