Officials say fleet readiness lags; munitions production and maintenance backlogs highlighted

Navy leaders told the House panel the fleet is not as ready as required and laid out near‑term and programmatic steps to improve surge readiness, maintenance throughput and munitions production.

Admiral Kilby said the Navy set “an ambitious goal to make 80% of our submarines, ships, and aircraft combat surge ready by 01/2027,” but acknowledged the Navy is not yet at that level. He identified maintenance delays, manning, training and sustainment shortfalls as principal causes of the gap.

Kilby also told the committee the Navy had seen strain on its munitions industrial base because of operations in the Red Sea and elsewhere, saying ordnance expenditures had highlighted the supply issue and that the service was working with both traditional primes and new entrants to expand production.

Secretary Phelan told the committee the department had deferred maintenance and under‑invested in infrastructure and that many bills are “coming due.” He said the department must address both procurement and the backlog of sustainment work; he also warned of workforce shortages that limit shipyard throughput.

Members asked for concrete metrics; Kilby cited an existing figure of tens of thousands of gaps at sea (the Navy has previously reported approximately 22,950 gaps at sea) and said the department planned to reduce that number through recruiting and process improvements.

Both witnesses stressed that predictable funding and improvements in shipyard and depot processes are necessary to close sustainment gaps. The committee sought follow-up information on maintenance scheduling, parts availability and munitions surge capabilities.