Cambridge Class Strike Cruiser (NTU)
Ordered in the early 1980s as a direct response to the Soviet Sevastopol and Kirov classes of heavy missile cruisers, the Cambridge Class AEGIS strike cruisers would be the product of the years of studies during the late 1970s to produce the ultimate modern Soviet ship killer. Following the acquisition of concrete information on the nature of the new Soviet cruisers, President Reagan ordered a direct counter be developed starting in late 1981, with a deadline for a concrete design placed at December 31, 1982. On account of the harsh deadline, designers opted to reuse the proven Long Beach Class hull and superstructure design, modernized with the Mk71 8 inch gun, Mk41 VLS, and centered around a new large anti-ship missile, dubbed the RGM-111A Zeus. Contracts for five ships, CSGN-42 through to CSGN-46, were awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding on January 1, 1983, and the first keel was laid in March of that year. Between 1983 and 1989, five ships of the class would find their way into service, and would serve well into the early 21st century. Still relatively early in the service life of these ships, the RGM-111s would see a major upgrade in their RGM-111B rendition, including improved guidance and grouping capability, and a much higher speed, exceeding Mach 4. The last ship of the type, Williamsburg, would be decommissioned in 2028, after 39 years of service. This is the proposed Design B, which deleted the aft VLS in favor of a helicopter hangar capable of supporting up to two Sea King or three Sea Sprite helicopters. Design C is also included, which deletes the unconventional layout and missiles and is much closer to a puritan Strike Cruiser.
Another hypothetical mod, meshing the Strike Cruiser proposals, with Long Beach, with the P-700 Granit, and the result is an absolute unit of a ship. Included are three variants, Design A, maintaining the aft VLS in place of the Tomahawk ABLs, with 215 VLS cells, Design B, with a hangar aft in place of the aft VLS, bringing her down to 122 VLS cells, not including the RGM-111 cells, and Design C, a more conventional AEGIS equipped cruiser, deleting the RGM-111 in favor of 80 additional Mk41 cells. Also included are 2003 variants with RIM-156 and RIM-66M and the RGM-111Bs to add a good bit of spice, for everyone who thinks Granits aren’t deadly enough as is.
Merry (slightly late) Christmas Everyone and enjoy!
