Two Ticonderoga class cruisers

The Ticonderoga-class of missile cruisers is a class of warships in the U.S. Navy, first ordered and authorized in FY 1978. The class use phased-array radar; the increased combat capability offered by the Aegis combat system and the AN/SPY-1 radar system justified the changing of the classification of Ticonderoga and Yorktown from DDG (guided missile destroyer) to CG (guided missile cruiser). Vincennes and Valley Forge may or may not have been authorized as DDGs; regardless, the DDG sequence continued with USS Arleigh Burke as DDG-51.

Of the “Ticos”, at least eight (Ticonderoga, Cowpens, Anzio, Yorktown, Valley Forge, Bunker Hill, Antietam and Princeton) share names with World War II aircraft carriers. Only one, Thomas S. Gates, is not named for a battle.