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Polish Navy: The US Navy will withdraw from the cruisers?
Author:Mariusz Dasiewicz
Polish Navy The United States is considering giving up the extension of service to six of the 22 currently operated Ticonderoga rocket cruisers. These ships could be decommissioned by 2022.
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It is the oldest units remaining in service: USS Bunker Hill, Mobile Bay, Antietam, Leyte Gulf, San Jacinto and Lake Champlain, which were supposed to have extended service capacity from 2021 to 22. Ships have already passed the age of 30, and at the moment they would return to the shipyard they would reach 35.
The fate of American cruisers is discussed in the American Congress on the occasion of virtually every annual budget. Interestingly, the U.S. Navy itself wants to get rid of ships, which considers them troublesome and too costly. They are defended by a sub-committee dealing with the United States naval power, which has not so far decided to allocate funds to new units. The current plans are to purchase new ships in 2025. Thus, they would have entered the ministry a few years later. In the case of a fleet reduction of cruisers by six units in 2022, this means a multi-year period of weakening the United States Navy by units which, with all their age-related faults, have the largest number of vertical missile launchers and potentially can be fitted with subsequent generations of rich sensory equipment. In other words, the power of US Navy fire will temporarily be severely weakened.
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The withdrawal decision has not yet been taken and the plan referred to as 2-4-6. It allows U.S. Navy to withdraw up to two Ticonderoga ships per year to upgrade. Each for a maximum of four years. Six in turn are the maximum number of ships that can undergo modernization procedures simultaneously. These provisions entered into force in 2015 and the first two ships included – USS Cowpens and Gettysburg – should return to service again this year. The next two – Vicksburg and Chosin – where work began in 2016, will return in 2020. Orders for further upgrades were not made until early 2019, when the US Navy demanded money to upgrade the six oldest cruisers. It is currently under consideration to abandon this investment, which will be tantamount to withdrawing it.
Signature: Maciej Szopa.
