On paper, the concept seemed simple enough. Modernize the U.S. Navy’s aging Ticonderoga-class cruisers, extending the life of these valuable ships at a time when America is desperately trying to expand the size of its battlefleet.
Yet the Navy – and its defense contractors – botched the project. Coming on top of the Navy’s existing problems regarding ship construction and maintenance, the Ticonderoga modernization seems emblematic of America’s maritime woes.
“The Navy spent about $3.7 billion on cruiser modernization since 2015 and has failed to meet its objectives,” according to a scathing Government Accountability Office report released in December 2024. “Of the 11 ships the Navy intended to modernize, it now plans to deploy only three. These three ships will not gain 5 years of service life. The Navy has divested four of the cruisers prior to finishing modernization and without providing any operational value to the Navy, thereby wasting the $1.84 billion already spent to modernize them.”
That may cheer China amid reports that its leader Xi Jinping has set a goal of being militarily capable of invading Taiwan by 2027. But it’s an ominous signs for the U.S. and its Pacific allies. The Ticonderoga class, with its Aegis weapon and sensor systems, are among the most powerful ships in the world, especially in air and missile defense. Should China invade Taiwan, they would provide crucial protection to U.S. aircraft carriers and troops convoys against an onslaught of Chinese anti-ship missiles.
Some 27 Ticonderoga-class cruisers were commissioned between 1983 and 1994. Built with an estimated service life of 35 years, most of these 10,000-ton vessels have been decommissioned, with nine still in active service. Costing around a billion dollars each, the active ships are armed with 122 vertical launch tubes capable of firing a variety of anti-aircraft, anti-missile, anti-ship, and cruise missiles. They could contribute a significant amount of firepower to naval operations in the South China Sea, Northern European waters, or other potential conflict zones.
The Navy wanted to replace the Ticonderoga cruisers with next-generation CG (X) cruisers, based on the Zumwalt-class destroyers. But the Zumwalt program – another fiasco – was canceled, even as the Navy now struggles to boost the size of its battlefleet to 355 vessels from around 300 ships now.
Under Congressional pressure, the Navy agreed to extend the life of 11 Ticonderogas by five years, with the work to be completed by 2026. But after spending nearly $4 billion, only seven of those ships were chosen for modernization: of those seven, four were eventually decommissioned before the work was completed – despite $1.8 billion spent on the effort – and only one has been deployed.
GAO investigators found shoddy work by contractors, such as a sloppy installation of a sonar dome rubber window on one vessel. As the Ticonderoga-class cruiser that was deployed in September 2024 – the USS Gettysburg – the results were hardly reassuring. Navy inspectors in January 2024 found “several outstanding issues during an inspection of the ship’s condition,” GAO said. “For example, several elements of the weapons systems were inoperable or degraded and there were structural issues throughout the ship.”
Coincidentally or not, the Gettysburg was the ship that accidentally shot down a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet over the Red Sea in December 2024. The Navy has now decided to replace Ticonderoga-class cruisers with Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which are almost the same size, though slightly less heavily armed.
Were this the only problem the US Navy faced, it would be embarrassing but manageable. Yet the Navy is already struggling with a terrible trifecta: overworked ships and sailors, inadequate dockyard capacity and shortage of skilled dockyard workers, and a consequent increase in maintenance shortfalls and delays
Two decades ago, the Navy enjoyed such superiority over potential adversaries that flaws could be glossed over. Today, China’s navy is the largest in the world, with impressive gains in numbers, technology and new capabilities such as aircraft carriers.
This does not equate to being the best navy in the world, nor being more proficient than the U.S. Navy. But the most likely scenario for the U.S. Navy’s next major conflict is the defense of Taiwan, which likely means sailing into China’s backyard – and into a hail of missiles, bombs and torpedoes.
The sun rises over the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) in the Atlantic Ocean March 28, 2018. Hue City is underway supporting Carrier Strike Group Four Task Force Exercise 18-2. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Danny Ray Nuñez Jr.)
Whether China can successfully launch a massive amphibious invasion of Taiwan – or whether the U.S. and its allies could sink the invasion fleet – is unclear. But what is clear is that the U.S. Navy will need to be at the top of its game, which requires sufficient numbers of highly capable air defense ships. The track record of recent American defense projects – such as the decades-long agony of the F-35 fighter program – suggests that developing and procuring major weapons system is uncertain at best.
If that’s the case, then the Navy can’t count on purchasing expensive new ships such as cruisers or destroyers. To maintain its strength, the Navy will need to keep its warships in service longer, just as the Air Force has done with its aircraft.
Whether or not modernizing the Ticonderogas was a good idea, it was an idea that the Navy needed to execute well.
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Anzio (CG 68) returns to Naval Station Norfolk after completing a six-month deployment in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. Anzio served off the Horn of Africa as the flagship of the international anti-piracy task force, Combined Task Force (CTF) 151. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class John Suits/Released).
About the Author: Michael Peck
Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
