For example, operational testing found challenges in the ship's defenses. But the Navy hasn't demonstrated that this type of ship can perform its intended missions. The Navy is planning for a total of 35 Littoral Combat Ships, which are designed to operate in shallow waters close to shore.Reducing the backlog could help fleets last longer and improve Navy operations. Of that, $1.2 billion is for ships the Navy proposed decommissioning early-in part because of their maintenance costs. But the Navy reported a $1.7 billion backlog of deferred maintenance on just its surface ships. Navy ships need regular, intensive maintenance.Additionally, 26 did not meet their goals in any year. A review of whether 49 types of DOD’s aircraft met their annual mission capable goals for FYs 2011-2021 found that only 4 met their goals in a majority of the years.Of particular concern is that neither service has completed required 'sustainment reviews'-a critical tool to assess performance and help increase readiness throughout an aircraft's life cycle. Despite spending billions of dollars annually, the Air Force and Navy have struggled for years to maintain their aircraft due to the age of their fleets, a lack of parts, maintenance delays, and other problems.One major reason is that an increasing number of F-35s don't have a working engine. However, the F-35 fleet's average mission capable rate-the percentage of time during which the F-35s can fly and perform at least one mission-declined between FY 2020 and FY 2021. DOD currently has 450 F-35s, and plans to procure about 2,500 in total. F-35 aircraft comprise a growing portion of DOD's aviation fleet.The Navy and Marine Corps are beginning to address the causes of their readiness decline, but recovery will take years. military readiness increased for its ground forces but declined for its sea forces.

The National Defense Strategy states that DOD should be ready to operate in all warfighting domains-ground, sea, air, space, and cyber.

Doing so could help DOD better plan and Congress oversee future costs. However, it hasn't developed cost estimates for continuing that presence in the long term. Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, DOD has expanded its presence in Eastern Europe.

The war in Ukraine has emphasized the importance of deterring Russian aggression in Europe through the presence of U.S.

To adapt to growing threats posed by major powers (such as China and Russia) and other adversaries, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the individual military services must make some urgent changes.

Nearly 2 decades of conflict has degraded U.S.

Current us military size tanks