USS Port Royal (CG-73) represents one of the twenty remaining warships of the aging Ticonderoga-class cruisers. Named after the Battle of Port Royal (as part of the American Civil War, 1861), the warship was ordered on February 25th, 1988 and laid down by Ingalls Shipbuilding on October 18th, 1991. She was launched on November 20th, 1992 and formally commissioned into USN service on July 9th, 1994. The hull was originally intended to carry the CG-69 designator which eventually fell to USS Vicksburg.
Today (2022), she homeports out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and fights under the motto of "The Will to Win".
Despite her Cold War-era roots - when the former Soviet Union was the enemy of the day - the warship continues in active service as of this writing.
Built to the Ticonderoga-class standard, the vessel has a displacement of 9,800 tons under full load and a running length of 567 feet with a beam measuring 55 feet and a draught down to 34 feet. The propulsion scheme is comprised of 4 x General Electric LM2500 gas turbines with 2 x Shafts astern driving the ship to speeds of over 32 knots.
Aboard is a typical operating crew of 330 including 30 officer-level candidates.
The warship is outfitted with all-modern sensors and processing systems including air-search and surface-search radars, a multi-function radar, and the requisite fire control radar. Sonar is fitted in the bow and as a towed array for submarine hunting. The AN/SLQ-32A(V)3 makes up the Electronic Warfare (EW) section of the ships defense systems.
Installed armament includes 2 x 5" (127mm) turreted deck guns, 2 x 61-cell Vertical Launch Systems (VLSs) supporting various Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) solutions, 8 x "Harpoon" anti-ship missiles, 2 x 25mm Mk 38 automatic cannons, 2 x 20mm Phalanx Block 1B Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs), and up to 4 x 12.7mm Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs). Beyond this are 2 x 324mm Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes to neutralize threats on the water and under it.
Over the stern is supported 2 x Sikorsky SH-60B / MH-60R "Seahawk" navalized helicopters with LAMPS III equipment for Over-the-Horizon (OtH) work.
Over the course of her active career, Port Royal has been awarded the Navy Unit Commendation, the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Navy "E" Ribbon recognizing the exceptional service of her various crews from 1995 into 2021. She has deployed mainly to Indian Ocean-Persian Gulf waters for her time at sea. In 2009, she accidentally ran aground on a reef near the Hawaiian shores suffering extensive bow damage in the process.
In 2022, the vessel remains a possible candidate for formal decommissioning and later to be placed in reserve status before being stripped and sold off.
Power & Performance Those special qualities that separate one sea-going vessel design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for USS Port Royal (CG-73).
2 x General Electric LM2500 gas turbines driving 2 x Shafts astern. Propulsion
32.5 kts 37.4 mph Surface Speed
Structure The bow-to-stern, port-to-starboard physical qualities of USS Port Royal (CG-73).
330 Personnel Complement
567.0 ft 172.82 meters O/A Length
55.0 ft 16.76 meters Beam
34.0 ft 10.36 meters Draught
9,800 tons Displacement
Armament Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of USS Port Royal (CG-73).
2 x 5" (127mm) turreted deck guns.
2 x 61-cell Mk 41 Vertical Launch Systems (VLSs).
2 x 4-cell "Harpoon" anti-ship missile launchers.
2 x 25mm Mk 38 automatic guns.
2 x 20mm Phalanx Block 1B Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWSs).
2 x 324mm Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes.
Air Arm Available supported fixed-wing / rotary-wing aircraft featured in the design of USS Port Royal (CG-73).
2 x Sikorsky SH60B/MH-60R "Seahawk" helicopters supported from the stern helipad section.
Ships-in-Class () Notable series variants as part of the USS Port Royal (CG-73) family line as relating to the Ticonderoga-class group.
USS Port Royal (CG-73)
Operators Global operator(s) of the USS Port Royal (CG-73). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national naval warfare listing.
Shipbuilder(s): Ingalls Shipbuilding - USA
[ United States ]
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Image from the United States Department of Defense DVIDS imagery database.
Going Further... USS Port Royal (CG-73) Guided-Missile Cruiser Warship appears in the following collections:
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