Modern US Navy guided missile cruisers perform primarily in a Battle Force role. Due to their extensive combat capability, these ships have been designated as Battle Force Capable (BFC) units. They are designed to operate in a high-density multi-threat environment well into the 21st century. Equipped to operate as an integral member of a aircraft carrier battle group or as part of surface action group (SAG), the ships are able to control engagements of friendly US interceptors against enemy aircraft to ranges in excess of 500 miles.
Built to be employed in support of Carrier Battle Groups, Amphibious Assault Groups, as well as interdiction and escort missions, their mission is two-fold. First, to prevent the employment of weapons against friendly forces by destroying enemy missiles, aircraft, submarines and surface ships. Second, to conduct offensive actions against the enemy through the employment of long range anti-ship and land attack missiles, and through naval gunfire support.
The Ticonderoga class brings a multi-warfare capability to the Fleet which significantly strengthens Battle Group operation effectiveness, defense, and survivability. In addition to its own anti-air warfare (AAW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and anti-surface warfare (ASUW) self-defense capability, the ships can effectively provide local area protection to the battle group, SAG, or other military shipping against air, surface, and subsurface threats. These multi-mission ships are capable of sustained combat operations in any combination of Anti-Air, Anti-Submarine, Anti-Surface, and Strike warfare environments. These ships can detect, classify and track hundreds of potential targets simultaneously in the air, on the surface, and under the sea. They can destroy targets using a variety of weapons: ship and helicopter launched torpedoes, deck guns, surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, rapid-fire close-in weapons, and electronic jammers and decoys.
The ship's weaponry and state of the art electronics truly distinguish the class as a multi-mission design, able to engage air, surface, and subsurface threats. Technological advances in the Standard Missile coupled with the AEGIS combat system in Ticonderoga class cruisers have increased the AAW capability of surface combatants. A land attack capability, coupled to their AEGIS anti-air missile systems, AN/SQQ-89 Undersea Warfare system and sophisticated C4ISR suite, make these ships the most powerful surface combatants in service with any navy.
The Ticonderoga class were the first surface combatant ships equipped with the AEGIS Weapons System, the most sophisticated air defense system in the world. Aegis also incorporates an antisubmarine warfare suite is equally unmatched. The AEGIS Weapons System was designed to defeat attacking missiles and provide quick reaction, high firepower, and jamming resistance to deal with the Anti-Air Warfare threat expected to be faced by the Carrier Battle Group during the Cold War. The AEGIS Weapons System is designed to defeat attacking missiles and provide quick reaction, high firepower, and jamming resistance to deal with the Anti-Air Warfare threat expected to be faced by the Battle Group. The AEGIS system is an extensive integration of electronic detection, command and decision programs, and engagement systems. The AEGIS combat system can also direct the operation of fighter aircraft and helicopters in protection of the Battle Group.
The AEGIS Display System, a series of four large-screen displays, enables the Commanding Officer, Tactical Action Officer, and embarked commander to remain constantly abreast of the battle situation. These large screen displays aid the Commanding Officer and Tactical Action Officer in evaluating assets and hostile forces anywhere in the world and clearly displays the battle picture. The ship's' command and control ability is augmented by a computer controlled radio center.
The AN/SPY-1, the primary sensor of the AEGIS system, automatically detects and tracks air contacts to beyond 200 miles. The AN/SPY-1 radar covers 360 degrees from wavetop to stratosphere and detects targets in all environments from bad weather to electronic countermeasures. This computer controlled phased array radar eliminates the need for separate search and tracking radars by simultaneously performing both functions. The four fixed arrays of the SPY-1 radar form small beams of electromagnetic energy, and steer them to provide nearly instantaneous full radar coverage. It is capable of tracking hundreds of contacts.
The ship's weapons include Standard Surface-to-Air Missiles (SM-1 and SM-2), Harpoon Surface-to-Surface Cruise Missiles, Phalanx Rapid-Fire Close-In Weapons Systems for self-defense against aircraft and missiles, the LAMPS Mark III "Seahawk" helicopter with her installed detection and engagement systems, 5" automated gun system, as well as torpedoes, both ship and helicopter launched. The ship's weapons systems are supplemented by electronic warfare countermeasures, decoys, and passive detection systems.
The ship's surface and subsurface weapons are extremely capable. Tomahawk and Harpoon cruise missiles provide stand-off strike capability while Standard Missiles handle short range engagements. The homing, anti-ship Harpoon missiles are fire from deck launchers to destroy surface attackers. Two five-inch gun mounts are used against threatening ships and boats, low-flying aircraft, or to bombard shore targets. To complete its anti-air defenses the Phalanx weapons system delivers a lethal punch to closer inbound missiles. Two rapid-fire Phalanx 20mm guns, known as CIWS (Close-in Weapon System), destroy targets that break through the outer area defense systems.
In addition, the ships carry a strong Anti-Submarine Warfare Suite. This unmatched antisubmarine warfare suite includes the AN/SQS-53C hull mounted sonar, acoustic towed array, and two SH-60B Seahawk helicopters. In the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) area, later ships of the class are shielded from underwater attack by the AN/SQQ-89(V)3 surface antisubmarine warfare system. This completely integrated system provides detection, location, and classification of submarine contacts at stand-off ranges. It consists primarily of a powerful active/passive bow mounted sonar, a passive tactical towed array, and a LAMPS MK III helicopter. These cruisers have the most advanced underwater surveillance system available today. The Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) equipment consists of a hull-mounted sonar, an Acoustic Array sonar which is towed like a tail behind the ship, and a helicopter that can locate ships or submarines over 100 miles away. Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes launch the Mk 46 torpedoes to destroy enemy submarines. A full load of sonobuoys assists in detecting and tracking submarines. Embarked SH-60B helicopters, which produce underwater detection and prosecution capabilities at extended ranges, engage submarines using sonobuoys and Mk 46 torpedoes.
To integrate its air-defense network with the joint environment, the Navy fielded a prototype area air-defense commander (AADC) capability in the AEGIS cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) in Spring 1999 and as part of the Cruiser Conversion Program . Using feedback from the operational community, the Navy will evolve a capable and robust command and control (C2) system that supports the AADC's requirements to plan and execute the air and missile defense mission well into the next century. This program, developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, ensures that the Navy's air-defense platforms remain relevant to the air- and missile-defense mission of the future. Once achieved, the Navy's new air defense systems will provide the AADC with the necessary authority to accomplish the TAMD mission because it allows him to plan and to direct tactical operations for air and missile defense forces at sea, ashore and in the air.
The cruisers of the Ticonderoga class will remain in use well into the 21st Century.
