Navy extends USS Wasp service life to 2034

April 30, 2026

Summary

Navy leaders extended USS Wasp’s service life to 2034 as they review whether other amphibious ships can remain in service longer.

Why this matters

The decision affects the Navy and Marine Corps’ ability to meet congressionally mandated amphibious fleet levels as readiness rates remain below stated requirements. It also signals how the services may try to offset maintenance problems and limited ship availability.

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps extended the service life of the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp by five years and are considering similar moves for other amphibious ships.

Brig. Gen. Lee Meyer, director of expeditionary warfare, told reporters Tuesday at the Modern Day Marine exposition in Washington that the decision followed a study of Wasp-class amphibious assault ships.

“The CNO approved the service life extension of the USS Wasp,” Meyer said. “He extended it by five years until 2034. The other LHDs, we’ve got to study to see if we can extend them and the plan is going to be to do that.”

Meyer said the Naval Sea Systems Command was expected to deliver within days a study of amphibious dock landing ships. He said the study would update the condition of those ships and recommend whether to extend their service lives.

The report is also expected to inform Navy and Marine Corps plans to sustain amphibious ships through a 40-year service life, with the goal of extending some to 50 years.

Meyer said the Wasp decision could serve as a model for other ships, though the services had not yet determined what that would require.

The amphibious fleet has faced maintenance and readiness problems. Three Wasp-class ships had engineering issues at sea in 2024, and USS Wasp’s deployment was delayed by mechanical failures.

The fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act required the Navy to maintain at least 31 amphibious ships, including 10 amphibious assault ships. The Navy has 32 amphibious warfare ships, but the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a 2024 report that half were in poor condition and poorly maintained.

At the 2026 Sea-Air-Space exposition, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith said the current amphibious fleet was too small to meet combatant commanders’ requirements and discussed extending ships’ service lives as one response.

President Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion fiscal 2027 defense budget seeks funding for one new America-class amphibious assault ship and one San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock.

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