USN:
Ticonderoga class cruiser USS
Anzio (CG-68) looking worse for wear, Naval Station Norfolk, April 7, 2022.
Anzio is one of seven cruisers that are in the Phased Modernization Program. This is a series of three overhauls to repair and upgrade cruisers that have not had significant overhauls to date. The first induction yard period stripped the ship of equipment and performed critical hull repairs, the second performed the rest of the hull repairs, and the third is the full upgrade/rebuild of the ships. Between these, the ships have been laid up, still commissioned but from what I can see functionally little different from a ship out of commission in the reserve fleet.
Anzio was the sixth cruiser inducted into the program on 12 May 2017 after completing her final deployment on 13 July 2016, and her sister
Hué City is also laid up in Norfolk. While the other five cruisers are in their third and final yard period, with some out of the shipyard and finishing the work pierside,
Anzio has only completed her second (from January 2018-April 2020), while
Hué City has only gone through the induction availability.
As such, when the Navy asked Congress to retire seven cruisers last year,
Anzio and
Hué City were on the list. Congress now will only allow the Navy to retire five cruisers before October, though the Navy can choose which five, and it’s nearly guaranteed that these two will never sail under their own power again.
