--- title: "Full Retirement Of Ticonderoga Cruisers On Hold, Trio To Remain In Service Into 2029" description: "The Navy has backtracked on plans to decommission the last of its Ticonderoga class cruisers by 2027, but their reprieve will be short." date: "2024-11-05" modified: "2024-11-05" authors: - name: "Joseph Trevithick" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/joseph-trevithick" url: "https://www.twz.com/news-features/full-retirement-of-ticonderoga-cruisers-on-hold-trio-to-remain-in-service-into-2029" categories: - "AEGIS Combat System" - "Americas" - "Arleigh Burke Class" - "Around The Globe" - "Cruisers" - "Destroyers" - "Naval Radars" - "Naval Sensor Systems" - "Navies" - "News & Features" - "Sea" - "SPY-1" - "Ticonderoga Class" - "U.S. Homeland" - "U.S. Navy" --- # Full Retirement Of Ticonderoga Cruisers On Hold, Trio To Remain In Service Into 2029 ![]() *USN* The U.S. Navy has partially reversed course on its controversial plans to decommission the last of [its *Ticonderoga* class cruisers by 2027](), with three of the ships now set to continue serving further out toward the end of the decade. The new decision regarding the *Ticonderogas* is part of an ambitious Navy-wide strategy that includes a call to substantially increase the readiness of warships and other key assets within the next three years. This also [follows the announcement last week]() that 12 of the oldest *Arleigh Burke* class destroyers will see their service lives extended. The Navy announced the life-extension plans for the USS *Gettysburg*, USS *Chosin*, and USS *Cape St. George*, yesterday. There are six more *Ticonderoga* class cruisers in service now that are still slated for decommissioning in the next two years. ![]() *The *Ticonderoga* class cruiser USS *Gettysburg*. *USN** The new "decision adds 10 years of cumulative ship service life from fiscal year 2026 to 2029," according to a Navy release. "All three cruisers received extensive hull, mechanical and engineering, as well as combat system upgrades as part of an extended modernization program." It is worth noting that USS *Cape St. George*, which is also the youngest still-serving *Ticonderoga* (commissioned in 1993), is actually still going through this upgrade process and is expected to return to the fleet sometime in the current fiscal year, which started on October 1. The modernization program includes improvements to the ship's [Aegis Combat System](), a new AN/SPQ-9B radar and upgrades to [the existing AN/SPY-1B](), an updated SQQ-89A(V)15 sonar suite, modifications to the Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) arrays to expand their capabilities, and a host of other work, [according to Navy budget documents](). ![]() *The USS *Cape St. George*, another one of the three *Ticonderogas* that are seeing their service lives extended. *USN** The Navy's original plan was to put 11 of its *Ticonderogas* through this upgrade program, with the modernized ships then serving into the 2030s. However, [growing costs and delays](), coupled with worsening [cracking and other structural issues](), had led it to reassess those plans. In 2022, the service [announced its intention]() to decommission all of the remaining cruisers – including ones right in the middle of being upgraded like *Gettysburg* and *Chosin* – by 2027. Two other modernized *Ticonderogas*, [the USS *Vicksburg*]() and [USS *Cowpens*](), were decommissioned earlier this year. The entire modernization program has already cost the Navy billions of dollars. As already noted, the Navy's original decision to send the *Ticonderogas* into mothballs was highly controversial. Beyond the sunk cost of the upgrade work, there continue to be serious questions about capability and capacity gaps, which the service has downplayed for years. Each *Ticonderoga* has 122 Mk 41 VLS cells. For comparison, Flight I and II Arleigh Burke destroyers have 90 Mk 41 cells, while more recent Flight IIA and III ships in that class have 96. The planned decommissioning of the Navy's four highly [in-demand *Ohio* class guided missile submarines](), which can loaded with up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles apiece, [before the end of the decade]() has only compounded concerns about dwindling missile launch capacity service-wide. It's interesting to point out here that USS *Chosin* was chosen to be the ship at the center of a test last month of the Transferrable Reload At-sea Method (TRAM) system for restocking Mk 41 VLS cells on ships at sea, which you can read more about [here](). Whether or not TRAM enters widespread service, at-sea reloading capabilities [have emerged as a critical need]() for the Navy, especially in the context of planning for a potential future high-end fight, such as one in the Pacific against China. ![]() *An empty missile canister is transferred to USS *Chosin* as part of a test of the Transferrable Reload At-sea Method (TRAM) system in October 2024. *USN* Eric Osborne* The *Ticonderogas* were also [designed from the outset]() as air and defense command and control platforms. The ships feature substantial capabilities in that regard that notably leads them to continue to be central components of Navy carrier strike groups. The service's stated plan is for new Flight III *Arleigh Burkes*, [of which it currently has one](), to take over this role. Questions [have been raised in the past]() about the long-term viability of [this 'maxed out' subclass of *Burkes*]() serving in this capacity. The Navy is working toward a true successor to the *Arleigh Burke*, currently [referred to as DDG(X)](), but the first of those new warships is not expected to enter service [until 2032 at the earliest](). Previous plans for [a direct replacement for the *Ticonderogas*]() evolved into [the *Zumwalt* class of stealth destroyers](), of which the Navy ultimately acquired just three. There continues to be ambiguity around [the expected roles and missions]() of the *Zumwalt* class ships, as well as their overall future. ![]() *A graphic from 2022 depicting a notional DDG(X) design and its features. *USN** "As a former cruiser Sailor, I know the incredible value these highly-capable warships bring to the fleet and I am proud of their many decades of service," Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said in a statement about the life-extension plans for the *Ticonderogas*. "After learning hard lessons from the cruiser modernization program, we are only extending ships that have completed modernization and have the material readiness needed to continue advancing our Navy's mission.” The Navy is facing larger hurdles when it comes [to increasing its overall fleet size](), [as well as maintaining]() the warships and submarines it has now. Its new *Constellation* class frigates are also mired in delays, cost growth, and other issues, as you can read more about [here](). With all this in mind, just last week, the service also announced it would be extending the service lives of a [dozen more Flight I *Arleigh Burkes*]() into the 2030s to help maintain overall operational capacity. Earlier this year, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations, unveiled a new service-wide “navigation plan,” also known as Project 33, [which included a prominent goal]() to be able to surge deploy 80 percent of all naval vessels and combat aircraft, if required, by 2027. “We are shooting for very high, very tough stretch goals here, and I know that, but the only way we’re going to get there \[is\] if you set those goals that high,” Franchetti [said in September](). The new change in plans for the *Ticonderoga* class is significant. At the same time, the fact that just three of these still highly capable cruisers are getting a relatively short reprieve, and at a high cost, underscores the significant challenges the Navy still faces in meeting its very ambitious readiness and operational capacity goals. *Contact the author: [*joe@twz.com*]()* ## Author Joseph is *TWZ’s* Deputy Editor, helping to oversee the site’s highly experienced and dedicated team, while also writing informative and impactful defense and national security content. He lives right in the thick of it in the Washington, D.C. area. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Bluesky]()