[CGVet58]

They "just" did launch the Tico! 20 years is nothing for a warship, almost like asking a 35 year old athlete if his life's over. Ships, notably carriers, have entered SLEPs (service life extension programs) to get more use out of them.

I think this is a disturbing indication that our fleet is shrinking, as it is projected to go from the approx 330 combatants we have today down to 295 or so in the next 15 years - not a good sign.

CGVet58

[Poohbah]

They "just" did launch the Tico! 20 years is nothing for a warship, almost like asking a 35 year old athlete if his life's over. Ships, notably carriers, have entered SLEPs (service life extension programs) to get more use out of them.

The first flight Ticos (CG 47 through CG 51) have the Mark 26 missile launchers, and are the last ships in the fleet carrying them. These are getting O-L-D (they stopped manufacturing spares in the 1980s), and keeping up the hardware for such a small number of ships is expensive. Unfortunately, they can't be upgraded to the Mk 41 VLS because of weight/moment issues.