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Ticonderoga Class AEGIS Cruisers
General characteristics: Ticonderoga Class
Length: 172.8m
Beam: 16.8m
Draught: 9.5m
Displacement Fully loaded (metric): 9590t (CG-47~48) 9407t (CG-49~51) 9516t (remainder)
Propulsion: General Electric Gas Turbines
Speed: 30+ kts
Range: 6000 miles at 20kts
Armament:
SSM: 2 Mk-41 Mod 0 61 round VLS for:
8 Tomahawk SLCM (from CG-52~)
Loral ASROC VLA (from CG-56~)
SAM: GDC Standard SM-2MR in Mk-48 VLS (SM-3MR to be fitted)
8 McD RGM-85A Harpoon (2 quad cell cross launchers)
Guns: 2 FMC Mk-45 Mod 0 127mm DP (CG-47~50), Mod 1 in later ships, 2 GE/GD Mk-15 20mm CIWS, 2 McD 25mm (CIWS to be replaced by RAM Block 1 from 2001), 4 12.7mm GPMGs
Torpedoes: 2 triple Mk-32 Torp (Mk-14) 324mm tubes firing Honeywell Mk-46 Mod 5
Aircraft: 2 Sikorsky SH-60B Seahawk LAMPS III ASW, or 2 Kaman SH-2F LAMPS I (CG-47~48)
Decoys:
Up to 8 Loral Hycor SRBOC 6-barrel fixed Mk-36 firing IR flares/chaff, SLQ-25 Nixie towed torpedo decoy
Radars:
Air search/Fire Control: RCA SPY-1A phased 3D arrays, Raytheon SPY-1B phased arrays (from CG-59~).
Air search: Raytheon SPS-48(V)7 or 8.
Surf search: ISC Cardion SPS-55.
Nav: Raytheon SPS-64(V)9.
Fire Control: Lockheed SPQ-9A. 4 Raytheon/RCA SPG-62.
Sonars:
GE/Hughes SQS-53A/B (CG-47~55) bow mounted search/attack, Gould SQR-19 (CG-54~55) Passive towed array, Gould/Raytheon SQQ-89(V)3 (from CG-56~) - combines hull mounted SQS-53B (CG-56~57) or SQS-53C (CG-68~73) and passive towed array SQR-19.
Compliment: 358
#in service: 27
#planned: 27
Class:
| CG-47 Ticonderoga | CG-48 Yorktown | CG-49 Vincennes | CG-50 Valley Forge | CG-51 Thomas S. Gates | CG-52 Bunker Hill | CG-53 Mobile Bay | CG-54 Antietam | CG-55 Leyte Gulf |
| CG-56 San Jacinto | CG-57 Lake Champlain | CG-58 Phillipene Sea | CG-59 Princeton | CG-60 Normandy | CG-61 Monterey | CG-62 Chancellorsville | CG-63 Cowpens | CG-64 Gettysburg |
| CG-65 Chosin | CG-66 Hue City | CG-67 Siloh | CG-68 Anzio | CG-69 Vicksburg | CG-70 Lake Erie | CG-71 Cape St. George | CG-72 Vella Gulf | CG-73 Port Royal |
The United States Navy's primary long range air defence capability lies in the 27 strong Aegis Cruiser fleet. These warships are uncontested as being the most effective AAW ships afloat.
The Ticonderoga design first appeared when CG-47 joined the fleet in 1983. The class is based on the Spruance DDG hull and incorporates an enlarged superstructure to accommodate the AEGIS billboard antennae. Other than these differences, the internal engineering specs are functionally identical between the Ticonderoga and Spruance classes. The highly expensive building programme of these ships has halted at 27 units. Systems from this design have also been incorporated in designs of DDG in both the U.S Navy and JMSDF. These vessels form the protective shield of any U.S task force, protecting the great carriers from the greatest enemy ever known to the warship.
Though the AEGIS missile system has only been combat tested once against an Iranian airliner, the system is understood to be unmatched in terms of accuracy, universality and range (although the longer ranged SM-2ER is carried by the larger California & Virginia CGNs with sensor suits to support the missile system.) The AEGIS Cruisers can detect, track and destroy over 200 targets simultaneously. The system is the product of over four decades of long range SAM development, the first such weapons: Talos and Terrier were notorious in the Vietnam war and were instrumental in the destruction of many futile NVA Mig attacks on the U.S fleet. The engineering development of the AEGIS system began in 1969, and was first deployed with the AEGIS class. The SM-2MR is a highly formidable weapon and can knock down incoming missiles and aircraft at altitudes of 30km. The new Mk-41 VLS carried in the later ships of the class ensures a vast stockpile of ready-fire SAMs that give an unpenatrible defence against saturation attacks from aircraft, surface units and submarines. As opposed to the older twin arm launcher carried in the first ships of the class. With a pair of Vulcan Phalanx CIWS units as a last line of defence against the air-threat. The Mk-41 VLS is also designed to fire a range of weapons including the ASROC and Tomahawk as well as Standard SM-2MR, allowing a very flexible weapon fit to suite and mission. The AEGIS cruisers may be intended for the Anti-Aircraft role, but stand as powerful anti-ship units as well owing to the eight ready fire Harpoon SSMs and two five inch automated DP turrets. The multi-role design of the AEGIS class includes also good ASW capabilities with facilities for two LAMPS III ASW helos'. Hence the combat efficiency and weapon/sensor suits of these ships can be easily integrated with other ships in the modern surface action group.