Fleet support contract for HII as US Navy wartime readiness questioned
The US Navy awarded a support contract to HII (Source: HII)
A study by the Rand Corporation has called into question the US Navy’s capacity for shiprepair in the event of a conflict with China, determining that US shipyards lack sufficient capacity to maintain or regenerate the existing fleet in such a scenario.
Limited repair capacity, a shortage of specialist technicians and supply chain constraints would leave battle-damaged US warships operating in the Indo-Pacific facing significant delays, with US Navy capability limited to stabilising damaged vessels for return to the US for major repairs, the study revealed.
The findings compound concerns raised by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) that decades of post-Cold War reductions in shipyard capacity, repair assets and support vessels, as well as spiralling procurement costs, have left the Navy ill-prepared, with China outmatching the US in both naval construction and maintenance infrastructure.
In other news, the US Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) a USD 417.7 million contact for maintenance, modernisation, repair and technical support for shipboard elevator systems across aircraft carriers and amphibious ships between now and 2031.
The contract also includes deployment of rapid-response repair teams to support vessels at overseas and forward-deployed bases, reflecting the Navy's continued focus on maintaining fleet availability during extended operations in regions including the Indo-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.
Commenting on the award, HII President Global Security Michael Lempke said: "Ensuring that essential operational systems, including shipboard elevators, run reliably is central to meeting the readiness needs of our US sailors and Marines."
