[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.

[hchutch]

Gee, didn't we recently decomm four (4) vessels with the Mk 26? The Virginia-class CGNs? And who's bright idea was it to NOT make enough spares when making them was cheap?

[CGVet58]

thank you. if i'm not mistaken, those are the mounts; vice the VLS systems implemented in later ships?

In any case, the Tico I's are still very capable warships; their AEGIS and electronic suites can still serve as the nerve center for a potent TF.

I read a while back (and wish I would have kept the link) about how the drawdown in ship requisitions during the Clint(reas...)on years have really put us behind the eight ball in maintaining, much less improving upon the total number of combatant ships. It's not a question of combat power; when our ships are on scene, few others (and certainly, none of our likely near-future opponents' navies...) can match them. But it does effect readiness - increased deployments in number and duration adversely affect materiel and crew retention.

thanks again for the tech update - I live for this.

CGVet58

Long live the Freep!