Cannibalized parts, systems that sailors can't fix: LCS maintenance woes could get worse, watchdog w

[nitpicker]

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2021/05/10/cannibalized-parts-systems-that-sailors-cant-fix-lcs-maintenance-woes-could-get-worse-watchdog-warns/

Cannibalized parts, systems that sailors can’t fix: LCS maintenance woes could get worse, watchdog warns
Geoff Ziezulewicz
13 hours ago

When they first started filling the surface fleet’s ranks 13 years ago, the Navy’s littoral combat ships were billed as agile, efficient vessels capable of taking on a variety of missions.

Part of that efficiency involved small crews, which in turn required heavy reliance on contractors for even routine maintenance.

But such choices have led the embattled class to encounter maintenance challenges not seen elsewhere in the fleet, issues that could imperil the ability of such ships to get out of maintenance on time and therefore lessen the number of ships available for operations, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.

GAO investigators found that the Navy doesn’t even know how to repair many commercial systems onboard LCS and is starting to pay the manufacturers of such systems for the required data to troubleshoot and fix issues on the ships.
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But even as the Navy works to get better at fixing its own littoral combat ships, contractors will still have to be flown overseas to perform routine maintenance, resulting in travel costs billed to the government that range from a few thousand dollars to more than $1 million, the report states.
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Because the original manufacturers are the only ones who know how to fix certain ship systems, a lack of available repairmen can also imperil LCS maintenance schedules, GAO found.
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