Smoke rises from a fire on US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard. REUTERS/Bing Guan
Business Insider/Task & Purpose: The Bonhomme Richard fire raises concerns about the Navy's ability to repair ships during a war
* A days-long fire aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard has likely left the ship years away from being able to go to sea again.
* The extensive damage to that ship has highlighted what is likely to be a big challenge in a war with a power like Russia or China: the US military's ability to build and repair major assets like ships.
While the damage to amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard is still being assessed, the best case scenario is that the ship will require several years of extensive repairs before it can return to sea.
Phil Ewing, a national security editor with NPR, pointed out that if it takes years to salvage vessels in peacetime, it is unlikely that the Navy could repair ships damaged in a war with China and Russia before the conflict ended.
"The assets you have on the First Day of the War in this era are likely the only ones you'll get and when they are broke, they go away; you are likely not going to get new ones or fix the current ones quickly enough to be relevant," Ewing tweeted on July 14.
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WNU Editor: The US Navy does not have the industrial infrastructure/base to quickly repair ships that may be damaged during a major war. And by the time the US does have such a base and infrastructure, the war will probably be over.
