[yuleeyahoo]

Let me get this straight, we are still using 70 year old B52s with no retirement in sight. So why can’t we update the Ticonderoga class like we did with the Iowa class battleships?

[Spktyr]

Ship hulls simply wear out with use. Use a metal warship long enough and you will find the hull is paper thin and barely keeps out water.

[NorthMountain]

From the article:

The Navy is refurbishing half of the remaining 22 Ticonderogas, enough to protect a planned eleven aircraft carriers into the 2030s. But the other eleven ships will start to age out in 2020.

And why aren't we refurbishing ALL of them?

I wonder if Barack HUSSEIN 0bama has an answer to that question.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Wife and I toured the Missouri at Pearl some years ago. It had just come out of dry dock with fresh paint and trim.
Even with the addition of the 80’s era missiles, the ship was burdened by 1930s-40s technology. Switching to light oil from N6 reduced its range. Feeding and fireing the 16 inch guns was worrisome.

[Bryanw92]

>>Let me get this straight, we are still using 70 year old B52s with no retirement in sight. So why can’t we update the Ticonderoga class like we did with the Iowa class battleships?

I agree. I served on an old nuclear submarine that would have random electrical fires when we were in warm water and pipes would just blow apart at test depth. It needed decommissioning.

But a surface ship doesn’t have the same concerns as a submarine and if it isn’t bursting into flames all the time, it should be upgradable.