The U.S. Navy Will Be Losing It's Largest Ships At Two-Per-Year Starting In 2020

Cruiser Normandy transiting the South China Sea in 2015. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Anna Van Nuys/U.S. Navy)

Defense News: The U.S. Navy will start losing its largest surface combatants in 2020

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy’s surface fleet will start losing some its biggest guns in 2020 at a two-per-year clip.

In 2020, the cruisers Mobile Bay and Bunker Hill will reach their service life of 35 years and are slated for decommissioning. But despite the age of the hulls, some observers are loathed to see the cruisers go, especially given that there is no immediate replacement for the 567-foot ship that bristles with 122 vertical launch missile tubes and two five-inch guns.

“I think the right idea is the put them in to a [service life extension program] and keep them in the fleet,” said Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain and analyst with the Center for a New American Security. “It’s cheaper to do that than a new build.

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WNU Editor: And there is no replacement plan in place when this starts to happen. Who is to blame .... the usual suspects. Congress, the Navy, previous administrations.