US Navy to Decommission 46 Ships, Submarines and Aircraft Carriers Over the Next 5 years

The U.S. Navy plans to decommission three of its four guided-missile submarines, four ballistic missile submarines and two aircraft carriers over the next 5 years.

The proposal, which Congress mandates each year, includes Ohio-class submarines and Nimitz-class carriers scheduled for inactivation which have reached or surpassed their estimated service lives, USNI News reported quoting the Navy’s annual 30-year shipbuilding blueprint.

Altogether, the decommissioning list includes 46 ships, submarines and warships besides supply ships between 2027 and 2031.

In FY 2027, the Navy plans to recycle USS Ohio (SSGN-726) and USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730) and dismantle USS Nimitz (CVN-68). The service also wants to recycle the attack submarine USS Boise (SSN-764), a decision the Navy announced last month after the boat waited more than a decade for an overhaul that cost the service $1.6 billion.

Guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN-728) and ballistic missile submarine USS Alabama (SSBN-731) are scheduled for recycling in Fiscal Year 2028, while USS Michigan (SSGN-727) is slated for recycling in Fiscal Year 2029.

In Fiscal Year 2030, the Navy wants to recycle USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and USS Nevada (SSBN-733). USS Tennessee (SSBN-734) is scheduled for recycling in Fiscal Year 2031, as is USS Connecticut (SSN-22). Tennessee will have reached its full service life, but Connecticut – a Seawolf-class boat that in 2021 hit an uncharted seamount in the South China Sea – will be one-year shy of its full 33 years.

The Navy is also set to start decommissioning the first Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyers in 2030, beginning with USS Russell (DDG-59) and USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62).