Army, Marine Corps vehicles not ready for combat, watchdog finds
By Zita Ballinger Fletcher
Oct 21, 2025, 10:32 AM
The majority of ground combat vehicles used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps are not ready to take part in missions due to a lack of maintenance and shortages of spare parts, warns a congressional watchdog.
Vehicles that regularly fail to meet their expected standards of readiness include 18 key types of combat and support vehicles used by both services, including the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Armored Personnel Carrier, Stryker Combat Vehicle, Abrams Tank, Light Armored Vehicle, Assault Amphibious Vehicle and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, among others, according to a Government Accountability Office report released last month.
Over the last decade, both the Army and the Marines have seen their vehicle combat readiness kneecapped by a combination of industry challenges, reductions in vehicle overhauls and lack of available skilled technicians, GAO found.
Industry challenges include diminishing supplies, long lead times in production, lack of available manufacturers and strains on single-source suppliers, the watchdog noted. Concurrently, manufacturing costs have gone up.
https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-military/2025/10/21/army-marine-corps-vehicles-not-ready-for-combat-watchdog-finds/
