Government watchdog accuses Navy of wasting over a billion dollars in cruiser modernization program

A government watchdog accused the United States Navy of wasting $1.84 billion since 2015 on its Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser modernization program, instead of investing in newer technology.  

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Tuesday claimed in its “Navy Ship Modernization” report that the program wasted approximately half of the $3.7 billion it spent on improving seven of its cruisers. Only three of the seven ships are expected to complete the modernization process, meaning it wasted over a billion on four cruisers. 

The report also noted that the program as a whole has been plagued with "weak oversight," delays, poor quality work, and wasted costs.

“The Navy did not effectively plan the cruiser effort,” the report’s authors wrote, per the Navy Times. “This led to a high volume of unplanned work — 9,000 contract changes — resulting in cost growth and schedule delays.”

The Navy has also not found the root cause of its problems so far, but the GAO's office recommended that the secretary of the Navy ensure the service updates its policies on the planning and oversight of future large-scale modernization projects, and direct the chief of Naval Operations and the head of Naval Sea Systems Command to assess the issues with the program and come up with solutions.

The report comes after a different GAO study found nearly half of the Navy’s 32 amphibious assault ships are not usually available because of maintenance work, which has led to late or missed exercises and deployments for Marines.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.