More than half of United States Navy aircraft cannot fly, mostly “because there isn’t enough money to fix them,” Defense News reported on February 6. That means that 1,700 combat planes and support aircraft are grounded. For the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet, the situation is worse—nearly two thirds are out of service. Defense News wrote that the F/A-18s “are the tip of the spear, embodying most of the fierce striking power of the aircraft carrier strike group.”

The blunting of this spear has major ramifications. America’s Navy is built around its air power. Since the Battle of Midway during World War ii, the U.S. Navy has relied on warplanes as the decisive element in naval engagements. The whole force is structured around carrier strike groups—made up of America’s colossal nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and their escorts.

But it’s not just the planes that are suffering. Defense News noted:

With training and flying hour funds cut, the Navy’s aircrews are struggling to maintain even minimum flying requirements, the senior Navy source said. Retention is becoming a problem, too. In 2013, 17 percent of flying officers declined department head tours after being selected. The percentage grew to 29 percent in 2016.Funding shortfalls mean many service members are unable to relocate to take on new assignments. So far in 2017, the Navy said, there have been 15,250 fewer moves compared with 2016.

The ships are suffering as well. Each year, the Navy has to postpone the overhauls that its aging fleet need in hope that additional funding will be available in the future. According to a senior Navy official, overhauls to another 14 ships will be deferred in 2018. Defense News also warned:

One submarine, the Boise, has lost its diving certification and can’t operate pending shipyard work.Leaders claim that if more money doesn’t become available, five more submarines will be in the same state by the end of this year.

Fifteen percent of the facilities onshore, which the Navy uses to repair and maintain its fleet, are themselves in need of repair, replacement or demolition, Defense News reported.

This indeed is a bleak picture for the U.S. Navy’s future. It would take billions of additional dollars just to solve the current issues facing the force. But the problems with the U.S. military go beyond money. The American defense budget is already the largest in the world, and yet the Navy—along with the other branches of the U.S. military—is still plagued with funding issues.

For more on these problems and the root causes behind them, read “Another Defeat for America’s Military.”