After the Second World War, missile technology improved fast, and large guns were replaced. Eventually, surface ships used rockets as the primary offensive weapons.
Twenty-two of the ships designated as (CG52 - CG73) are equipped with two mk41 Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) with eight Maritime Tomahawks each. The initial five ships from (CG47 to CG51) have a twin launcher included as armament, reported Naval Technology.
Planned upgrades for the VLS are the new Lockheed Martin AN/ALQ-70 computers that can launch Evolved Seasparrow Missiles (ESSM) to hit a target as far as 250 nautical miles.
One version of the ESSM uses systems to navigate and recognize targets electronically, with a range of 2,500-km. Another additional function for the VLS-targeting computers is to fire Tactical Tomahawks (Block IV).
The ESSM was first used in 2004 to stop high-speed ship killer missiles before hitting US and NATO vessels.
Using semi-active radar guidance and warheads like the Seasparrow includes a better motor with better range, speed, and agility. A tactical Tomahawk can be programmed to attack any target automatically while en route.
On the gun deck of the Ticonderoga Class is the Aegis Guided-Missile Cruisers that are dual launchers for Harpoon missile that attack any surface target as far as 125-km.
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Other missiles on the CG series destroyer
Ticonderoga Class is armed to the teeth with 2MR surface-to-air missile that can hone in on targets with a 70-km distance. By far the most numerous missiles with 60 in all, in two VLS each. In November 2002, the Standard Missile SM-3 was able to intercept an ICBM in space, fired from a CG 70.
It is equipped with an Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) 3.0 capability. Linking it up with SM-3s guides it to hit ICBMs that target navy Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) in wartime.
But, not all CG-class ships have it, except for the USS Shiloh, USS Erie, and USS Port Royal, which have BMD 3.6 systems installed to trace long-range and short-range ballistic missiles. Only three Ticonderoga classes and 15 Arleigh-Burkes are part of the Ballistic Missile Defense fleet, cited Fas Org.
Other weapons used for close-in defense and offense
A Ticonderoga has other duties like fleet defense and anti-submarine warfare with standard systems like a triple 324mm-tube torpedo launcher. It can fire the m46 torpedo (10-km range) and mk50 (15-km range) to attack ships or subs. It is armed with Vertical Launch ASROC, fired from the VLS, and attacks adversaries with mk50 or mk46 torpedo.
One last line of defense is the mk45 127mm/54 as the main guns, with 20-rounds of 32kg shells fired in one minute. Sometimes the main gun will be too slow to stop an incoming missile, but the dual Phalanx mk15 close-in weapon systems (CIWS) can unleash a 20-mm hail at 3,000 rounds as a pinpoint defense at a 1.5-km distance against anti-ship missiles, noted Navy Mil.
An improved Phalanx Block 1B has thermal imaging with 4,000 rounds a minute packed on the Ticonderoga Class Aegis Guided-Missile Cruisers.
Related article: Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer: The US Navy's Deadliest Ship
