Summary and Key Points: Expert Christian D. Orr walks through the three 1980s weapons upgrades to the 57,500-ton Iowa-class battleships: four Phalanx CIWS mounts firing 20mm rounds at 4,500 per minute, four Mk 141 quad launchers with 16 RGM-84 Harpoons reaching 150 nautical miles, and eight Armored Box Launchers with 32 BGM-109 Tomahawks ranging 1,553 miles at $2 million apiece. In Desert Storm, USS Missouri fired 28 Tomahawks and USS Wisconsin 24, the last battleships ever to fire in anger.
The Iowa-Class Was a Legend for a Reason
The heyday of battleships as the “capital ships” of surface warfare is sadly long gone.
However, at least in the case of the Iowa-class fast battleships of the United States Navy, the retirement of these battlewagons certainly wasn’t due to a lack of versatility or adaptability.
Indeed, during the glorious decade of the 1980s, the 57,500-ton Iowa-class received multiple, highly sophisticated weapons system upgrades that made them even fiercer warships and kept them fighting right up until the end of the Cold War.
Iowa-Class Battleships’ Weaponry Upgrade #1: The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS)
Back in World War II, the Iowas’ secondary battery of 5-inch/38-caliber dual-purpose guns and tertiary battery of Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm anti-aircraft guns were sufficient against aerial assailants such as kamikazes. However, the Cold War also ushered in the Jet Age; that meant that missile-armed, jet-propelled enemy warplanes required a more accurate, faster-firing anti-aircraft defense system.
Enter the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS; pronounced “sea-whiz”).
This was—and still is— a fast-reaction, detect-through-engage, radar-guided, 20-millimeter gun weapon system that employs a six-barreled M-61A1 Gatling Gun with an incredible rate of fire of 4,500 rounds per minute, or 75 rounds per second! When it fires, it sounds a bit like a buzzsaw, making it far deadlier than its cuddly R2D2-lookalike appearance notwithstanding.
Each Iowa-class warship was equipped with four Phalanx mounts, two of which sat just behind the bridge and two which were next to the ship’s aft funnel.
Iowa-Class Battleships’ Weaponry Upgrade #2: The Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile
The Iowas’ main battery of nine 16-inch (406 mm)/45 caliber Mark 6 guns—two triple-gun turrets fore, one aft—was absolutely fearsome, no doubt. But naval warfare of the 1980s and beyond also necessitated a “smarter” anti-ship weapon that could give true standoff attack capabilities.
Hence, the RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile, which could deliver a 478-lb. warhead to targets up to 150 nautical miles away; for basis of comparison, whilst the 16-inch naval shells packed a walloping 2,700 lbs., they could only reach out to 24 statute miles.
USS Iowa Battleship tour taken by 19FortyFive in August 2025.
Ergo, the battleships were retrofitted with four “shock-hardened” Mk 141 quad-cell launchers, each packing four Harpoons, for a total of 16 such missiles.
Iowa-Class Battleships’ Weaponry Upgrade #3: The Tomahawk Cruise Missile
Saving the best for last, as these would turn out to be the most historically significant and meaningful weapons upgrade, for reasons we shall discuss momentarily.
Four of the five-inch gun mounts were removed to make way for eight quad-cell Armored Box Launchers (ABLs), each of which packed four BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs), for a total of 32 such missiles.
USS Iowa Battleship visit by Harry J. Kazianis for 19FortyFive.com. Taken back in August 15, 2025.
These highly accurate cruise missiles cost $2 million apiece but provided plenty of proverbial “bang for the buck,” with a maximum range of 1,553 miles, a max airspeed of 549 mph/Mach 0.9, and a warhead of 992 lbs.
Proof of Concept in Combat: Operational History of Missile-Armed Iowas in Brief
As far as this writer can ascertain, the Iowa BBs never got to fire their Harpoon missiles nor their “R2D2 guns” in anger; if any of our dear readers know otherwise, please let us know in the Comments section.
But they certainly did get to wield their TLAMs in grand fashion, in America’s last “hot war” of the Cold War era, that being the 1991 Persian Gulf War, AKA Operation Desert Storm.
Therein, USS Missouri (BB-61) fired 28 Tomahawks against the forces of then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who were illegally occupying the oil-rich Gulf Arab nation of Kuwait; “Mighty Mo” fired the first of these missiles at 1:40 a.m. on the very first night of the war, January 17, 1991.
U.S. Navy Iowa-Class Battleship Missile Launchers 19FortyFive.com Image
USS Iowa Battleship Guns 19FortyFive.com Image
Not to be outdone, her sister ship, USS Wisconsin (BB-64), AKA “Big Wisky,” fired 24 Tomahawks of her own at Iraqi targets. “Mighty Mo” and “Big Wisky” also brought their big, booming 16-inch main guns into the fray, and thus it came to pass that these two venerable battlewagons made history as the last battleships in history to fire their shots in anger.
Talk about “going out with a bang,” or, if you prefer, “in a blaze of glory!”
Postscript
Thankfully, all four Iowa-class battleships have been preserved for posterity as floating museums, and after touring USS Iowa (BB-61) multiple times, I can vouch that the missile launchers and Phalanx are quite accessible.
USS Iowa Battleship visit by Harry J. Kazianis for 19FortyFive.com. Taken back in August 15, 2025.
In the meantime, this writer is also honored to be invited as the guest speaker at the USS Wisconsin’s Reunion Dinner this coming Columbus Day weekend!
I hope to report back with lots of cool shipboard pictures, including the missile launchers and Phalanx; stay tuned, dear readers.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (with a concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He is also the author of the book “Five Decades of a Fabulous Firearm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beretta 92 Pistol Series,” the second edition of which was recently published.
