Books in Culture in Action series

This new guided-missile destroyer ship class of nuclear-powered escorts was originally conceived in the late 1970s. However, cost forced planners to build these new cruisers with modified destroyer hulls and gas-turbine propulsion. The end result was a longer, sleeker cruiser with a formidable variety of offensive and defensive weapons as well as cutting-edge radars, sonars, and a full electronic warfare suite. Ticonderoga-class vessels eventually totaled 27. They have shown the flag in ports all across the globe, maintained peace, and effectively performed their primary role to protect the aircraft carriers with anti-submarine and anti-air systems. Armed with Tomahawk cruise and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, ships of this class have destroyed targets on the seas, air, land, and have even eliminated a damaged satellite flying 133 miles above the Pacific Ocean with a missile impact velocity at 22,000 mph. Although the first five ships of the class have been decommissioned, 22 Ticonderoga-class ships navigate the planet to protect America’s interests.