In a report published last month, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned that the vast majority of ground combat vehicles used by the US Army and Marine Corps are unable to consistently meet established mission readiness standards due to lack of maintenance and shortages of spare parts.
According to the report, 18 key combat and support vehicles, including the Abrams Tank, Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Stryker Fighting Vehicle and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), are among the vehicles that consistently fail to meet expected readiness standards.
Sharp Decline in the Number of Maintenance
GAO cited procurement difficulties in the industry, reductions in vehicle maintenance and a shortage of skilled technicians among the main reasons for the disruption of combat readiness over the past decade.
The most notable decline was in depot maintenance, where vehicles were overhauled and extensively repaired:
US Army: reduced the number of depot maintenance from 1,278 in fiscal year 2015 to only 12 in fiscal year 2024. Army officials said they recognised the risk posed by this decision.
Marine Corps: In the same period, it reduced the number of maintenance from 725 to 163.
Despite this sharp drop in the number of servicing, expenditure remained high, with both services reportedly spending over $ 2,5 billion on depot maintenance of ground vehicles in the 2023 financial year.
Qualified Personnel and Technical Data Problems
Army maintenance cuts have led to the loss of skilled technicians needed to work in depots. The report stated that the reduction in depot workload increased the turnover of experienced personnel, which created gaps in needed skills. The Bradley programme was particularly adversely affected.
In addition, the lack of available technical data hampered the Army’s attempts to make in-house repairs. Army technicians had to rely on drawings from the 1960s to guide them on some vehicles, and vehicles such as Abrams, Bradley and Stryker had to be sent back to the original manufacturers for repairs.
Duty Readiness Status
None of the Army vehicles reviewed by GAO met mission readiness standards for fiscal year 2024. The Marine Corps has demonstrated that three vehicles – the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV), Logistics Vehicle System Replacement and Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement – are capable of operating at or above last fiscal year; maintenance programmes are underway for these vehicles.
The report emphasised that both old and new vehicle types face parts and material challenges. For example, it was stated that platforms that have recently entered the inventory, such as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), compete for the same components as newly produced vehicles, and this situation has increased the shortage of parts.
