Ticonderoga-class cruiser

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This article is about an American guided-missile cruiser class authorized in 1978. For other uses, see Ticonderoga (disambiguation).
USS Port Royal (CG-73)
The USS Port Royal (CG-73) in Hawaiian waters in September 2003.
Class overview
Builders:Ingalls Shipbuilding
Bath Iron Works
Operators:United States United States Navy
Preceded by:Virginia-class cruiser
Succeeded by:N/A[N 1]
Built:1980–1994
In commission:1983–present
Completed:27
Active:22
Laid up:4
Retired:5 (CG-47 to 51)
Preserved:1 donation on hold[1]
General characteristics
Type:Guided-missile cruiser
Displacement:Approx. 9,600 long tons (9,800 t) full load
Length:567 feet (173 m)
Beam:55 feet (16.8 meters)
Draft:34 feet (10.2 meters)
Propulsion:
4 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engines, 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW)
2 × controllable-reversible pitch propellers
2 × rudders
Speed:32.5 knots (60 km/h)
Range:6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h); 3,300 nmi (6,100 km) at 30 kn (56 km/h).
Complement:33 officers, 27 Chief Petty Officers, and approx. 340 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems:
Electronic warfare
& decoys:		Mark 36 SRBOC
AN/SLQ-25 Nixie
Armament:
cruiser mark 26
2 × Mk 26 missile launchers
68 × RIM-66 SM-2, and 20 × RUR-5 ASROC
8 × RGM-84 Harpoon missiles
2 × Mark 45 5 in / 54 cal lightweight gun
2–4 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) gun
2 × Phalanx CIWS
2 × Mk 32 12.75 in (324 mm) triple torpedo tubes
cruiser mark 41
2 × 61 cell Mk 41 vertical launch systems containing
2 × Mk 32 12.75-in (324 mm) triple torpedo tubes for lightweight torpedoes
Armor:limited Kevlar splinter protection in critical areas
Aircraft carried:2 × Sikorsky SH-60B or MH-60R Seahawk LAMPS III helicopters.
The Ticonderoga-class of guided-missile cruisers is a class of warships in the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in the 1978 fiscal year. The class uses phased-array radar and was originally planned as a class ofdestroyers. However, the increased combat capability offered by the Aegis combat system and the AN/SPY-1 radar system was used to justify the change of the classification from DDG (guided missile destroyer) to CG (guided-missile cruiser) shortly before the keels were laid down for theTiconderoga and the Yorktown.
Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers are multirole warships. Their Mk. 41 VLS can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike strategic or tactical targets, or fire long-range antiaircraft Standard Missiles for defense against aircraft or antiship missiles. Their LAMPS III helicopters and sonar systems allow them to perform antisubmarine missions. Ticonderoga-class ships are designed to be elements of carrier battle groups, amphibious assault groups, as well as performing missions such as interdiction or escort.[2]
Of the 27 completed vessels, 19 were built by Ingalls Shipbuilding and eight by Bath Iron Works (BIW). All but one (Thomas S. Gates) of the ships in the class are named for noteworthy events in U.S. military history, and at least twelve; Ticonderoga, Cowpens, Anzio, Yorktown, Valley Forge, Bunker Hill,Antietam, San Jacinto, Lake Champlain, Philippine Sea, Princeton, Monterey, and Vella Gulf; share their names with World War II aircraft carriers.

History[edit]

Shoot down of Iran Air Flight 655[edit]

Main article: Iran Air Flight 655
One ship of the class, the USS Vincennes (CG-49), became infamous in 1988 when she shot down Iran Air Flight 655, resulting in 290 civilian deaths. The commanding officer of the USS Vincennes, William C. Rogers III, had believed the airliner was an Iranian Air Force F-14 Tomcat fighter jet on an attack vector, based on reports of radar returns, revealed to be misinterpreted. The investigation report recommended that the AEGIS large screen display be changed to allow the display of altitude information on plots, and that stress factors on personnel using AEGIS be studied.[3]

Interception of United States satellite USA-193[edit]

Main article: USA-193
On 14 February 2008, the United States Department of Defense announced that the USS Shiloh (CG-67) and USS Lake Erie (CG-70) would attempt to hit the dead satellite USA-193 over the North Pacific Ocean just before it would burn up on reentry.[4][5] On 20 February 2008, at approximately 22:30 EST (21 Feb, 03:30 UTC), an SM-3 missile was fired from the Lake Erie and struck the satellite. The military intended that the missile's kinetic energy would rupture the hydrazine fuel tank allowing the toxic fuel to be consumed during re-entry.[6] The Department of Defense confirmed that the fuel tank had been directly hit by the missile.[7]

Possible early retirement[edit]

Due to Budget Control Act of 2011 requirements to cut the Defense Budget for FY2013 and subsequent years, plans are being considered to decommission some of the Ticonderoga-class cruisers.[8] For the U.S. Defense 2013 Budget Proposal, the U.S. Navy is to decommission seven cruisers early in fiscal years 2013 and 2014.[9]
Because of these retirements, the U.S. Navy is expected to fall short of its requirement for 94 missile defense cruisers and destroyers beginning in FY 2025 and continuing past the end of the 30-year planning period. While this is a new requirement as of 2011, and the U.S. Navy has historically never had so many large missile-armed surface combatants, the relative success of the AEGIS ballistic missile defense system has shifted this national security requirement onto the U.S. Navy.[10] Critics have charged that the early retirement of these cruisers will leave the Navy's ship fleet too small for the nation's defense tasks as the U.S. enacts a policy of "pivot" to the Western Pacific, a predominantly maritime theater. The U.S. House has passed a budget bill to require that these cruisers instead be refitted to handle the missile defense role.[11]
By October 2012, the U.S. Navy had decided not to retire four of the cruisers early in order to maintain the size of the fleet. Four Ticonderoga-class cruisers, plus 21 Arleigh Burke–class destroyers, are scheduled to be equipped to be capable of antiballistic missile and antisatellite operations.[12]

Design[edit]

Ticonderoga–class cruisers were built on the same hull as theSpruance-class destroyer.
The Ticonderoga-class cruiser's design was based on that of the Spruance-class destroyer.[2] The Ticonderoga–class introduced a new generation of guided missile warships based on the AEGISphased array radar that is capable of simultaneously scanning for threats, tracking targets, and guiding missiles to interception. When they were designed, they had the most powerful electronic warfare equipment in the U.S. Navy, as well as the most advanced underwater surveillance system. These ships were one of the first classes of warships to be built in modules, rather than being assembled from the bottom up.[2]
Operations research was used to study manpower requirements on the Ticonderoga class. It was found that four officers and 44 enlisted sailors could be removed from the ship's complement by removing traditional posts that had been made obsolete.[2]

Vertical Launching System[edit]

An overhead view of theTiconderoga-class USS Lake Champlain (CG-57), with VLS visible fore and aft as the gray boxes near the bow and stern of the ship.
The olderUSS Ticonderoga (CG-47) with the pre-VLS twin-arm launchers visible fore and aft.
See also: Vertical Launching System
In addition to the added radar capability, the Ticonderoga-class ships subsequently built after the USS Thomas S. Gates included two Mark 41 Vertical Launching Systems (VLS). The two VLS allow the ship to have 122 missile storage and launching tubes that can carry a wide variety of missiles, including the Tomahawk cruise missile, Standard surface-to-air missile, Evolved Sea Sparrowsurface-to-air missile, and ASROC antisubmarine warfare (ASW) guided rockets. More importantly, the VLS enables all missiles to be on full stand-by at any given time, shortening the warship's response time before firing. The original five ships (Ticonderoga, Yorktown, Vincennes, Valley Forge, and Thomas S. Gates) had Mark 26 twin-arm launchers that limited their missile capacity to a total of 88 missiles, and that could not fire the Tomahawk missile. After the end of the Cold War, the lower capabilities of the original five warships limited them to duties close to the home waters of the United States. These ship's cluttered superstructure, inherited from the Spruance-class destroyers, required two of their external radar units to be mounted on a special pallet on the portside aft corner of the superstructure, with the other two mounted on the forward starboard corner. The later AEGIS warships, designed from-the-keel-up to carry the SPY-1 radars, have them all clustered together.
The high weight of these warships - about 1,500 tons heavier than the Spruance-class, resulted in a highly-stressed hull and some structural problems in early service, which were generally corrected in the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Several ships had superstructure cracks which had to be repaired.

Upgrades[edit]

Originally, the U.S. Navy had intended to replace its fleet of Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers with cruisers produced as part of the CG(X) missile cruiser program; however, severe budget cuts from the 21st century surface combatant program coupled with the increasing cost of theZumwalt-class guided missile destroyer program resulted in the CG(X) program being canceled. TheTiconderoga-class cruisers will instead be replaced by Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers.[13]
All five of the twin-arm (Mk-26) cruisers have been decommissioned. In 2003, the newer 22 of the 27 ships (CG-52 to CG-73) in the class were upgraded to keep them combat-relevant, giving the ships a service life of 35 years each.[14] In the years leading up to their decommissioning, the five twin-arm ships had been assigned primarily home-waters duties, acting as command ships for destroyer squadrons assigned to the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic areas.
As of July 2013, 12 cruisers have completed hull, mechanical, and electrical (HM&E) upgrades and 8 cruisers have had combat systems upgrades. These include an upgrade of the AEGIS computing infrastructure with the SPQ-9B radar system, incorporating computing technology, fiber optics, and software upgrades, and modifications to the vertical launch system to fire the RIM-162 ESSM. Another upgrade is improving the SQQ-89A(V)15 sonar with a multi-function towed array. Hull, sonar, radar, electrical, computer, and weapons systems upgrades can cost up to $250 million per ship.[15]

Ships in class[edit]

 Name  Number  Builder  Launched  Commissioned  Decommissioned  Status  Link 
Mark-26 Twin-Arm Launcher Variant
TiconderogaCG-47Ingalls Shipbuilding25 April 198122 January 198330 September 2004Stricken, available for donation as a museum and memorial[2]
YorktownCG-48Ingalls Shipbuilding17 January 19834 July 198410 December 2004Stricken, scrapping in progress as of fall 2013[3]
VincennesCG-49Ingalls Shipbuilding14 January 19846 July 198529 June 2005Stricken, scrapped Nov. 2010-Apr. 2011[4]
Valley ForgeCG-50Ingalls Shipbuilding23 June 198418 January 198630 August 2004Disposed of in support of Fleet training exercise, sunk in a target practice[5]
Thomas S. GatesCG-51Bath Iron Works14 December 198522 August 198716 December 2005Stricken, to be disposed of[6]
 Name  Number  Builder  Launched  Commissioned  Home port  Status  Link 
Mark-41 Vertical Launch System Variant
Bunker HillCG-52Ingalls Shipbuilding11 March 198520 September 1986San Diego,Californiain active service, as of 2014[7]
Mobile BayCG-53Ingalls Shipbuilding22 August 198521 February 1987San Diego,Californiain active service, as of 2014[8]
AntietamCG-54Ingalls Shipbuilding14 February 19866 June 1987Yokosuka, Japanin active service, as of 2014[9]
Leyte GulfCG-55Ingalls Shipbuilding20 June 198626 September 1987Norfolk, Virginiain active service, as of 2014[10]
San JacintoCG-56Ingalls Shipbuilding14 November 198623 January 1988Norfolk, Virginiain active service, as of 2014[11]
Lake ChamplainCG-57Ingalls Shipbuilding3 April 198712 August 1988San Diego,Californiain active service, as of 2014[12]
Philippine SeaCG-58Bath Iron Works12 July 198718 March 1989Mayport, Floridain active service, as of 2014[13]
PrincetonCG-59Ingalls Shipbuilding2 October 198711 February 1989San Diego,Californiain active service, as of 2014[14]
NormandyCG-60Bath Iron Works19 March 19889 December 1989Norfolk, Virginiain active service, as of 2014[15]
MontereyCG-61Bath Iron Works23 October 198816 June 1990Norfolk, Virginiain active service, as of 2014[16]
ChancellorsvilleCG-62Ingalls Shipbuilding15 July 19884 November 1989San Diego,Californiain active service, as of 2014[17]
CowpensCG-63Bath Iron Works11 March 19899 March 1991San Diego, Californiain active service, as of 2014[18]
GettysburgCG-64Bath Iron Works22 July 198922 June 1991Mayport, Floridain active service, as of 2014[19]
ChosinCG-65Ingalls Shipbuilding1 September 198912 January 1991Pearl Harbor,Hawaiiin active service, as of 2014[20]
Hué CityCG-66Ingalls Shipbuilding1 June 199014 September 1991Mayport, Floridain active service, as of 2014[21]
ShilohCG-67Bath Iron Works8 September 199018 July 1992Yokosuka, Japanin active service, as of 2014[22]
AnzioCG-68Ingalls Shipbuilding2 November 19902 May 1992Norfolk, Virginiain active service, as of 2014[23]
VicksburgCG-69Ingalls Shipbuilding2 August 199114 November 1992Mayport, Floridain active service, as of 2014[24]
Lake ErieCG-70Bath Iron Works13 July 199110 May 1993Pearl Harbor,Hawaiiin active service, as of 2014[25]
Cape St. GeorgeCG-71Ingalls Shipbuilding10 January 199212 June 1993San Diego,Californiain active service, as of 2014[26]
Vella GulfCG-72Ingalls Shipbuilding13 June 199218 September 1993Norfolk, Virginiain active service, as of 2014[27]
Port RoyalCG-73Ingalls Shipbuilding20 November 19924 July 1994Pearl Harbor,Hawaiiin active service, as of 2014[28]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. Jump up^ Originally the replacement class for the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers was to come out of the CG(X) development program, however the CG(X) program was cancelled in 2010, and the original mission of the CG(X) cruisers has been taken up by Flight III Arliegh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, leaving this class without a replacement cruiser program.

References[edit]

  1. Jump up^ Ticonderoga (CG 47). US Navy, Naval Vessel Register, 4 January 2012.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c dhttp://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/navy/surfacewarfare/cg47.html
  3. Jump up^ Fogarty, William M. (28 July 1988). Formal Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Downing of Iran Air Flight 655 on July 3, 1988 (Report). CM-1485-88 / 93-FOI-0184. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  4. Jump up^ "Officials: U.S. to try to shoot down errant satellite". CNN. 14 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  5. Jump up^ "Pentagon plans to shoot down disabled satellite". Reuters. 14 February 2008. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
  6. Jump up^ Shanker, Thom (21 February 2008). "Missile Strikes a Spy Satellite Falling From Its Orbit". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  7. Jump up^ "Navy Succeeds In Intercepting Non-Functioning Satellite". NNS. 20 February 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  8. Jump up^ [1]. Navy Times
  9. Jump up^ "Navy budget request avoids deep cuts". Navy Times.
  10. Jump up^ O'Rourke, Ronald. "CRS-RL32109 Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress." Congressional Research Service, 2 March 2012.
  11. Jump up^ Dutton, Nick. "US Navy: ‘Hollow’ force or ‘the best in the world’?" CNN, May 28, 2012.
  12. Jump up^ American Cruisers Not Allowed To Retire Strategypage.com, October 2, 2012
  13. Jump up^ "Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress". Open CRS. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  14. Jump up^ The Ticonderoga (CG 47) - Class
  15. Jump up^ Navy Upgrades More Than a Third of Cruisers - DoDBuzz.com, 9 July 2013

External links[edit]

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