Lower material readiness for ships

Navy ship readiness has trended downward in the last three years with several ship systems on submarines and surface ships showing lower readiness scores in FY 2020 compared to a recent average, according to the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) annual report March 3. INSURV conducts material readiness inspections on new ships before they join the fleet to ensure they were built properly, as well as periodic inspections on existing ships in the fleet to ensure they’re still in good working condition. In FY-20, INSURV conducted 55 inspections, including 36 material inspections, on ships in the fleet and 15 sea trials for new ships being delivered. “The overall Fleet material condition shows a negative trend over the last three years, but it is within a standard deviation of the 6-year average,” read the report. Out of 21 functional areas, surface ships were marked as degraded in 11 areas, compared to just six areas six years ago. Fourteen of the 21 areas, ships in FY-20 tested below the six-year average. “The surface force showed a declining trend in average IFOM (INSURV Figure of Merit), but this decline is within a standard deviation of the 6-year average,” the report reads. Only information systems improved readiness. The report notes that three Ticonderoga-class cruisers, 16 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, one Freedom- and one Independence-variant of Littoral Combat Ship, one Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, one Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship, one Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship and one Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship were inspected. Two DDGs from Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula., Miss., USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117) and the future Delbert Black (DDG-119) underwent trials with INSURV. For Delbert Black, the acceptance trials improved from the prior year’s ship. DDG 119 achieved the highest IFOM score out of six ships presented for AT since 2016. “The ship completed AT with no significant construction (starred) deficiencies.” On the Freedom-variant LCS, USS St. Louis (LCS-19) and the future Minneapolis-St. Paul (LCS-21) went through acceptance trials at the Fincantieri Marinette (Wis.) Marine. At Austal USA yard in Mobile, Ala., the future Oakland (LCS-24) and Mobile (LCS-26) went through acceptance trials, and USS Cincinnati (LCS-20) went through final contract trials. “The program’s AT performance continued its strong record over the past 2 years,” read the report. (Source: USNI News 03/03/21) https://news.usni.org/2021/03/03/insurv-inspections-found-lower-material-readiness-on-surface-ships-subs