Overview
- The Navy, which announced the inactivation Friday, will shift money and skilled labor to Virginia- and Columbia-class submarine production.
- Navy Secretary John Phelan said the project has cost about $800 million with only 22% of the overhaul done and would need roughly $1.9 billion more for limited remaining service life.
- Boise has sat out of service for nearly a decade and lost its ability to dive in 2017 after an overhaul planned for Naval Station Norfolk was delayed for years.
- Huntington Ingalls Industries won a $1.2 billion contract in 2024 to do the work at Newport News with completion projected in 2029 before the Navy pulled the plug.
- Leaders linked the step to the White House’s Golden Fleet push and a 2027 budget that seeks over $65 billion for shipbuilding, as officials try to lift attack-sub readiness from 62% and ease yard and workforce strain.