Alternate U.S. Navy

Virginia Class (1970)

The Virginia-class cruisers are the first of the U.S. Navy's "second generation" nuclear surface combatants, developed as long range escorts for the Nimitz-class carriers.

The Navy initially proposes the construction of "no less than" thirty-two ships of this class, four for each of the eight planned Nimitzes. However, due to severe delays in the development of the Advanced Surface Missile System intended to arm them, it is decided to proceed with the construction of the first four ships without ASMS and refit them later. The construction order is subsequently cut to eleven ships, which when combined with the five existing nuclear cruisers will provide two nuclear escorts per carrier.

Flight I

• USS Virginia (CGN-14)
• USS Texas (CGN-15)
• USS Mississippi (CGN-16)
• USS Arkansas (CGN-17)

Flight II

See below.

Strike Cruiser (1974)

The Strike Cruiser was a highly publicized series of DARPA proposals for next-generation "attack cruisers" incorporating the same advanced ASMS ⁄ Aegis systems as the Virginia class along with an offensive battery of Tomahawk cruise missiles and a lightweight major-caliber gun. Specifically, it was proposed that the seven unbuilt Virginia-class cruisers be cancelled while USS Long Beach would be extensively refitted as a prototype Strike Cruiser, followed by the construction of twelve new Strike Cruisers.

Congress approved $800 million to refit Long Beach in the 1974 naval budget, but cut Strike Cruiser procurement to eight ships in the 1975 budget and subsequently axed the program entirely in the 1976 budget. Several revised proposals for reduced Strike Cruiser designs derived from the Virginia hull were subsequently offered as lower-cost alternatives, culminating in the restoration of Virginia-class construction in an improved design which incorporates cruise missile strike capability and the new deck gun.

Flight IIA Virginia Class

The eight-year hiatus in Virginia-class procurement caused by the abortive Strike Cruiser is ultimately beneficial to the Navy, as it not only enables completion of the delayed ASMS (now renamed "Aegis Combat System") but also allows the revised Flight IIA design to incorporate the newly developed Mark 41 vertical-launch missile system in place of the originally planned Mark 26 twin-arm launchers.

The revised configuration of the Flight IIA ships is therefore two 61-cell Mark 41 vertical launch systems (one forward and one aft), a single forward 7" rapid-fire deck gun, a single Mark 10 twin-arm missile launcher amidships, and two Phalanx CIWS point-defense 20mm gun mounts. The Mark 41 VLS is capable of firing Standard MR medium range missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles, while the Mark 10 launcher is compatible with Standard ER long range missiles and ASROC anti-submarine missiles (with a 40 round magazine).

Six ships of this class are built, with further plans to upgrade the four existing Virginias to an equivalent "Flight IIB" configuration when they are refueled in the early 1990s.

• USS Oregon (CGN-18)
• USS Minnesota (CGN-19)
USS Vermont (CGN-20)
• USS Kansas (CGN-21)
• USS Airizona (CGN-22)
• USS Delaware (CGN-23)

Bainbridge (Refit) Class

The Bainbridge class escort cruisers are extensively rebuilt into Aegis ships during their late-1970s refueling and overhaul. Post-refit, they have a very similar superstructure and most of the same systems as Flight IIA Virginia-class ships, but are visually distinguishable by the absence of deck guns.

The substantially greater than planned expense of these refits leads the Navy to reconsider its plans to perform Aegis refits on the California and Virginia class cruisers. Even though the Virginia class had been specifically designed as "fitted for but not with" Aegis, the new system had evolved considerable since the ship design was finalized and no longer followed the original concept of being incorporated into a modular deckhouse which could be installed as a block upgrade. In addition, the pre-planned upgrade had not included replacing the Mark 26 twin-arm launchers with Mark 41 vertical launchers.

• USS Bainbridge (CGN-10)
• USS Truxtun (CGN-11)

Arleigh Burke Class

The Arleigh Burke class destroyers are the U.S. Navy's definitive surface combat warship of the late 20th and early 21st century. Although classified as destroyers rather than cruisers, the Burke class are full-fledged multirole surface combatants which serve as "universal" next-generation successors to both nuclear-powered guided missile cruisers and conventionally powered guided missile destroyers.

See dedicated page.