Virginia-class Guided Missile Cruiser

The Virginia-class Nuclear Guided-Missile Cruisers, also known as the CGN-38-class, was a series of four double-ended (with armament carried both fore and aft) guided-missile cruisers commissioned in the late 1970s, which served in the United States Navy until the mid-to-late 2000s. With their nuclear power plants, and the resulting capability of steaming at high speeds for long periods of time, these were excellent escorts for the fast nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, such as the Nimitz-class. Their main mission was as air-defense ships, though they did have capabilities as anti-submarine (ASW) ships, surface-to-surface warfare (SSW) ships, and in gun and missile bombardment of shore targets.

Specifications

 * Type: Nuclear powered Guided Missile Cruiser (Hull designation symbol CGN)
 * Service Period: 1976-2008
 * Characteristics
 * Length: 586 feet (178.61 meters)
 * Beam: 63 feet (19.2 meters)
 * Draft: 32 feet (9.76 meters)
 * Displacement: 10,663 tons (Standard); 11,666 tons (Full Load)
 * Crew: 579 (39 officers and 540 enlisted)
 * Propulsion: 2 x General Electric D2G nuclear reactors, 2 x shafts, 60,000 shp
 * Speed: 36.5 knots (67.6 km/h)
 * Sensor Suite
 * AN/SPQ-9A gun fire control radar
 * AN/SQS-26 Bow mounted sonar
 * AN/SPS-48E 3-D Air search radar
 * AN/SPS-49 2-D Air search radar
 * AN/SPG-51 Missile fire control radar
 * AN/SPS-55 surface search radar
 * AN/SPG-60 fire control radar
 * Countermeasures
 * AN/SLQ-25 Nixie torpedo countermeasures suite
 * AN/SLQ-32(V)3 Electronic Warfare Suite
 * AN/SLQ-49 Chaff Buoy Decoy System
 * Mk.36 SBROC
 * NATO SeaGnat Decoy System
 * Aramament
 * 2 x 5"/54-caliber Mk.45 Mod 2 lightweight naval gun
 * 2 x Mk.26 twin arm missile launchers
 * 2 x Mk.141 Harpoon missile launchers
 * 2 x Mk.143 Armoured Box Launchers
 * 2 x 12.75" Mk.32 triple fire torpedo tubes
 * 2 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS
 * Aircraft Carried: 1 x Kaman SH-2F Seasprite