Sept. 25, 1997 -- The Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal (CG 73) steams along side the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and USS Independence (CV 62) during the final stages of exercise Valiant Blitz '97, off the coast of Yokosuka, Japan. Photo from Wikimedia
From New Wars:
We have made specific and proven advances in our missile defense technology, particularly with regard to land- and sea-based interceptors and the sensors that support them. Our new approach will, therefore, deploy technologies that are proven and cost-effective and that counter the current threat, and do so sooner than the previous program. Because our approach will be phased and adaptive, we will retain the flexibility to adjust and enhance our defenses as the threat and technology continue to evolve.
President Barack Obama on replacing the land based BMD shield in Europe for now with a sea based deterrent.
Last week, President Obama — on my recommendation and with the advice of his national-security team and the unanimous support of our senior military leadership — decided to discard that plan in favor of a vastly more suitable approach. In the first phase, to be completed by 2011, we will deploy proven, sea-based SM-3 interceptor missiles — weapons that are growing in capability — in the areas where we see the greatest threat to Europe.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates in a NY Times editorial.
With the blessings of the President and Defense Secretary, we can officially declare America’s guided missile cruisers and destroyers as the modern battleships. Their obvious ability to contend with an assortment of air and surface threats, as well as shoot down rogue ballistic missiles that threaten our nation and its allies, means the new battleships have gone beyond the role of mere carrier escorts, to a key strategic asset in their own right.
Read more ....
My Comment: I always find it amazing how technology can change a way of thinking that was etched in stone for decades, into something completely different.
For decades Aircraft Carriers were regarded to be essential to protecting a naval fleet .... today .... it is something completely different.
Guided missile cruisers and destroyers are the strategic assets for any Navy .... and will increase in importance as missile technology even improves what we have today.
There is a lot of meat in this posting from New Wars, I recommend that you read all of it. The Comments section also provides a good discussion of where we are going.