According to USNI News, the US Navy will decommission five Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers after the 2022 Defense Expenditure Bill is passed.
This is part of the adjustment to ensure the White House’s defence spending. The US Congress has yet to release information about the five US Navy cruisers that will be decommissioned under the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“The Navy is adhering to the formal process outlined in the 2022 defence spending act.” In 2022, five Ticonderoga-class cruisers will be decommissioned. “After detailed information is available, the Navy will announce plans for ship movements,” the US Navy said in a statement.
According to the US Navy’s preliminary proposal, five cruisers will depart the fleet in April, including the USS Lake Champlain, USS Hué City, USS Anzio, USS Port Royal, and USS San Jacinto.
The United States Navy currently operates 22 cruisers, many of which are undergoing long-term maintenance. The US is looking to upgrade these cruisers so that the cruiser fleet can continue to support the carrier strike group in combat operations.
However, US naval leaders told Congress that extending the lives of cruisers was expensive and took longer than expected.
“The cost of modernising the cruisers is 175 % to 200% higher than the estimated cost, and the repair time is hundreds of days longer.” “These ships have a retirement age of only 30 years, but they’ve been in service for more than 35 years,” US Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Gilday told the House Armed Services Committee last year.
Previously, in July of last year, the United States announced that two cruisers, the USS Vella Gulf and the USS Monterey, would be stationed at Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia, in February of this year. Following their deployment to the Middle East with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group, the two warships returned to base.
US President Joe Biden signed the NDAA 2022 into law at the end of December last year, approving a $ 770 billion defence budget. The NDAA 2022 increased by more than 5% year on year, including spending for a 2.7 percent increase in military personnel salaries, the purchase of more aircraft and ships, and the development of threat-response strategies. From the outside, geopolitics.
In addition, the US defence budget for 2022 includes $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, $4 billion for the European Defense Initiative, and $150 million for Baltic Security Cooperation. Under the same law, the United States is expected to spend $ 7.1 billion on Pacific security initiatives.
