The U.S. Navy has decided to postpone the decommissioning of three Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers, extending their overall service life by 10 years collectively. This involves the USS Gettysburg (CG-64), USS Chosin (CG-65), and USS Cape St. George (CG-71). These vessels were originally slated for decommissioning in 2026-2027.
This means they will now serve until the end of this decade, assuming the extended service life is evenly distributed. Overall, this decision mirrors the recently announced plan to add 48 years of service to 12 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
At the same time, in order for the ships to serve an additional three years each, they have been sent for costly and prolonged repairs. For instance, the USS Gettysburg (CG 64) was in repair for a total of six years under the Ship Life Extension Program (SLEP).
The work on this ship, which took place from 2015 to 2021, cost $146.3 million and included the installation of a new version of the Aegis fire control system, other onboard systems, and repairs to internal spaces.
It is worth noting that Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers are the most powerful ships in the U.S. Navy, aside from aircraft carriers. They are equipped with 122 Mk 41 vertical launch system cells, capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as SM-6 surface-to-air missiles and SM-3 exo-atmospheric interceptors. The primary sensor of the cruiser is the SPY-1 radar, a version of which is also installed on the aforementioned Arleigh Burke destroyers.
In total, the U.S. Navy had 27 Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers, the first of which was commissioned in 1983. However, currently only 9 units remain in service. Their decommissioning continued on schedule even after 2022.
Specifically, even in 2024, four guided missile cruisers were already transferred to the "Reserve Fleet," with another expected to be decommissioned by the end of the year. Additionally, in 2025, three cruisers—USS Philippine Sea (CG-58), USS Normandy (CG-60), and USS Lake Erie (CG-70)—are scheduled to be retired.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that these ships, even in a decommissioned state, could seemingly serve as anti-missile "floating batteries," this idea has not found a rational basis, as maintaining such ships in operation still requires significant funding.