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Virginia Class CruiserThe Virginia-class nuclear guided missile cruisers (CGN-38 class) were a series of four guided missile cruisers commissioned in the late 1970s, which served in the US Navy through early to mid 1990s. The ships were derived from the earlier California-class nuclear cruiser (CGN-36 class). They were decommissioned as part of the early 1990s "peace dividend" from winning the Cold War. The elimination of the Virginia-class (CGN 38-41) cruisers has been criticized. They were new, modern ships; given a New Threat Upgrade overhaul they would have been well suited to modern threats (they had rapid-fire Mk 26 launchers which could fire the powerful Standard SM-2MR medium range surface to air missile; earlier decommissioned cruisers used slow-firing Mk. 10 launchers which required manual finning of the missiles prior to launch). Their major weakness was a lack of helicopters. Economics doomed the ships, though. They were coming due for nuclear refuellings, mid-life overhauls and NTUs, all expensive projects. Further, they had relatively large crews, straining USN personnel resources. Given less need for cruisers, it was decided to eliminate these ships as a money saving measure. Ships: (This entry includes information from the sci.military.naval newsgroup FAQ)
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