Crazy that they tried to save ships outmoded by decades like that but state of the art Virginia class cruisers that weren’t even 15 years into their 40 year service lives? Nope we got to cancel that ■■■■■ They hadn’t even had their first RICOHs yet. I think Texas was literally in the middle of hers when they canned them. Same thing happened to a bunch of young Los Angeles class boats.
Granted I kind of get why the Virginias, as cool as they were, had to get the axe. They were very expensive guided missile cruisers yet they came out literally half a decade before Aegis became a thing. So the Ticonderogas and Arleigh Burkes had way more potential for both anti air and anti ballistic missile defense. Virginias could kill any other surface ship including Kirovs with prejudice, but they were limited to that one role only. Kind of a one trick pony really. They were really neat ships. Had I been alive back then and in the navy I would have begged to serve on one.
I think I’ve liked them just because USS Mississippi was one of them. And that’s the coolest ship our state ever had its name plastered on. Besides that one battleship Mississippi that got in a knock out drag out fight with one of the Kongos in World War II.
