Virginia-class submarine USS Washington completes key dry dock phase as US Navy faces increasing maintenance delays.

The U.S. Navy Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine USS Washington (SSN 787) undocked at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, on October 27, 2026, concluding a 712-day dry-docking period. The vessel entered Dry Dock No. 3 for structural repairs, hull maintenance, and mechanical and electrical upgrades under an Engineered Docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) initially estimated at $394.795 million. This milestone transitions the submarine to pierside testing and system integration amid a broader U.S. Navy depot maintenance backlog that placed 34% of the attack submarine fleet in shipyards during FY2024.

The U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Washington left dry dock on October 27, 2026, after nearly two years of maintenance and upgrades, but must undergo further testing before returning to service. (Picture source: US Navy)

The U.S. Navy's Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Washington (SSN 787) undocked at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, on October 27, 2026, after 712 days in Dry Dock No. 3 for structural inspections, repairs, and mechanical and electrical modernization. The submarine arrived on September 27, 2024, entered dry dock on November 14, and completed the docking phase on schedule, although further maintenance and testing remain necessary. Its Engineered Docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) carried an initial estimated cost of $394.795 million and a planned completion date of May 17, 2027.

The undocking comes as 16 of the U.S. Navy's 47 attack submarines were in depot maintenance during FY2024, representing 34% of the force against a 20% target, while average depot maintenance duration increased from 744 to 809 days between the FY2016-2020 and FY2021-2025 periods. The USS Washington entered Portsmouth 287 days after returning from a six-and-a-half-month North Atlantic deployment on December 15, 2023, and spent 48 days preparing for dry-docking. Its 712-day docking period accounted for 93.7% of the 760 days between shipyard arrival and undocking. The original maintenance schedule extended from September 3, 2024, through May 17, 2027, covering 987 days, with a $394.795 million estimated expenditure.

Related topic: US Navy installs first welded 3D-printed metal part on operational Virginia-class submarine

Work included structural inspections, mechanical and electrical upgrades, scheduled repairs, and maintenance requiring access to submerged hull sections. Undocking occurred 202 days before the original completion date, but remaining pierside work, equipment testing, and operational certification prevent treating this interval as time saved. Neither the final cost nor the return-to-service date has been confirmed. Commissioned on October 7, 2017, the USS Washington is the 14th Virginia-class submarine and fourth Block III boat, and was built by Huntington Ingalls Industries at Newport News Shipbuilding. It measures 114.9 m in length and 10.3 m in beam, displaces 7,800 tons submerged, and uses an S9G nuclear reactor driving steam turbines and a single-shaft pump-jet propulsor at speeds exceeding 25 knots.

Its reactor core is designed for 33 years without refueling, leaving 24 years of planned service life in October 2026. The Block III configuration introduced a Large Aperture Bow sonar array and two 87-inch Virginia Payload Tubes, each carrying six Tomahawk missiles, replacing the class' earlier 12 individual vertical-launch tubes without increasing the missile capacity, while four 533 mm tubes accommodate Mk 48 ADCAP torpedoes. These capabilities were incorporated during construction, not during the latest modernization. The Portsmouth availability followed earlier maintenance, including a three-month Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) completed in March 2021, and two deployments in the North Atlantic, which ended in February 2022 and December 2023, respectively.

What the USS Washington maintenance and modernization involved

The USS Washington's latest work included mechanical and electrical upgrades, structural inspections, and repairs requiring dry-dock access, but the individual equipment modifications remain unspecified. No confirmed replacement or upgrade concerns the S9G reactor, pump-jet, Large Aperture Bow sonar, AN/BYG-1 combat control system, photonics masts, electronic warfare equipment, or missile launchers. Consequently, no measurable changes in propulsion efficiency, acoustic emissions, sonar detection performance, electrical capacity, or weapons capability can be established. The principal operational effect is therefore the restoration of equipment condition and reliability for subsequent operating cycles rather than a demonstrated expansion of combat capability. 

A more specific industrial change occurred on March 18, 2026, when Portsmouth Naval Shipyard installed a welded, additively manufactured copper-nickel flange aboard the USS Washington, following inspection and testing on March 9. This was the first welded flange of its type installed through a U.S. public naval shipyard additive manufacturing process. Copper-nickel alloys offer resistance to seawater corrosion and are used in marine piping applications, although the specific system receiving the component remains unidentified. The installation required manufacturing, inspection, testing, and welding qualification, establishing a method for producing replacement parts when conventional suppliers face limited production capacity or long procurement lead times. However, no dimensions, pressure rating, production cost, manufacturing duration, or conventional procurement lead time have been established, preventing calculation of any maintenance savings. 

How often Virginia-class submarines undergo major maintenance

Virginia-class submarines typically follow a 72-month operating-cycle framework under OPNAVINST 3120.33D, within a planned 33-year service life. The USS Washington entered Portsmouth 83 months after commissioning, 11 months beyond the nominal six-year interval, although individual maintenance schedules vary. Its 712-day dry-docking period equaled 32.5% of a 72-month cycle, while the original 987-day availability represented 37.6%. By comparison, Los Angeles-class submarines follow a 120-month operating-cycle framework with a 72-month operating interval; Seawolf-class boats use a 120-month interval; and Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines follow successive 252-month and 240-month cycles.

Nevertheless, Virginia-class life-of-ship reactor cores eliminate the midlife refueling, but not lengthy structural, mechanical, and electrical maintenance. Over a 33-year service life, three hypothetical maintenance availabilities lasting 809 days each would account for 2,427 days, or 6.65 years, representing 20.2% of a 33-year service life, before including shorter maintenance periods, training, certification, and other non-deployed activities. The broader maintenance record indicates that extended depot periods are a recurring fleet-wide constraint. Average U.S. attack submarine depot maintenance duration increased from 744 days in FY2016-2020 to 809 days in FY2021-2025, an increase of 65 days, or 8.7%. Only 11% of public shipyard attack submarine availabilities finished on schedule during FY2016-2025, while accumulated delays increased from 3,040 to 3,454 days between the two five-year periods, a 13.6% rise.

Why maintenance delays are affecting the US Navy submarine fleet

The combined 6,494 days of overruns equaled 17.8 submarine-years beyond planned completion dates, although these delays occurred across different submarines and schedules. Ten availabilities lasting 65 additional days each would generate 650 submarine-days of extra depot occupancy, or 1.78 submarine-years, potentially delaying subsequent maintenance starts. The USS Washington's 712 days in dry dock were 97 days below the 809-day average for complete availabilities, but its remaining work prevents a valid comparison until final completion. 

For instance, in FY2024, 16 of the U.S. Navy's 47 attack submarines were undergoing depot maintenance, leaving 31 outside major shipyard availabilities. The 34.0% maintenance share exceeded the Navy's 20% target by 14 percentage points, requiring a reduction to nine or fewer submarines in depot maintenance at the same fleet size to meet that target. This would increase the number outside depot maintenance from 31 to at least 38, a 22.6% increase, although training, shorter repairs, and certification would still limit immediate deployability.

The USS Washington's previous North Atlantic deployment ended on December 15, 2023, after six and a half months, and its subsequent Portsmouth availability had lasted 760 days by October 27, 2026. Its eventual return would restore one Virginia-class submarine to the operational force, while, at the fleet level, reducing the average depot period from 809 days to its previous 744-day level would recover 65 maintenance days per completed availability. These two measures, maintenance duration and the number of submarines simultaneously unavailable, provide a more direct assessment of the U.S. submarine force generation than the number of commissioned submarines alone.

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Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.