The US Navy will extend the service life for three Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers, adding ten years of cumulative ship service life from fiscal year (FY) 2026 to 2029, with the vessels undergoing extensive upgrades as part of a modernisation programme.
In a 4 November 2024 release, it was announced that the Department of the Navy planned to operate the USS Gettysburg (CG 64), USS Chosin (CG 65), and USS Cape St George (CG 71), beyond their expected service life, adding a cumulative decade to their previous out-of-service date (OSD).
All three cruisers have received hull, mechanical and engineering, and combat system upgrades. The USS Gettysburg and USS Chosin completed their modernisation in FY 2023 and FY 2024 respectively, while USS Cape St George was on schedule to complete the process in FY 2024.
The US Navy said that, similar to the recently announced service life extension (LIFEX) of 12 Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers (DDG), extending the three Ticonderago cruisers would “bolster the fleet as new ships are built”.
Of the decision to extend the service life and delay the OSD for the three vessels, US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said: “After learning hard lessons from the cruiser modernisation programme, we are only extending ships that have completed modernisation and have the material readiness needed to continue advancing our… mission.”
The vessels were proposed to be decommissioned in the next three years, with USS Gettysburg slated for 2026, followed by USS Chosin and USS Cape St George in 2027.
With the new timeframe added, it is conceivable that the three cruisers will now have an OSD in the 2029-2030 timeframe.
The move follows a successful re-arm at sea demonstration aboard USS Chosin in mid-October, with the Transferrable Reload At-sea Mechanism process the first time the US Navy transferred missile canisters from a replenishment ship to a warship while at sea. This enables US Navy surface combatants to rearm without needing to pull into port.
Ticonderoga class drops to 33% original strength
With the space of a month between late-August and late-September 2024, the US Navy decommissioned three Ticonderoga-class cruisers, with USS Cowpens leaving service on 28 August after 33 years of service, followed by the USS Leyte Gulf and USS Antietam on 20 September and 27 September respectively, each serving 37 years on operations.
Of the 27 vessels built in the class, just nine now remain operational, with their capabilities being replaced in part by the Flight III Arleigh Burke DDGs. A future class of 22 DDG(X) guided missile destroyers will also serve to fill out gaps left by the departed Ticonderoga’s and Flight I Arleigh Burke vessels.
In September 2023, the Ticonderoga class had dropped to around 50% strength amid a year-on-year loss of platforms. Currently, the fleet stands at 33% of its original strength, a significant reduction in what was once the mainstay of US naval surface battlegrounds.
