CG ( X ) The CG ( X ) program , also known as the Next Generation Cruiser program , was a United States Navy program to replace its 22 " Ticonderoga " class cruisers after 2017 . Original plans were for 18 – 19 ships , based on the 14 , 500 ton " Zumwalt " class destroyer but providing ballistic missile defense and area air defense for a carrier group . The program was canceled in 2010 ; its mission is to be taken by Flight III " Arleigh Burke " – class destroyers instead . History . Background . In the early 1990s , the U . S . Armed Forces had to respond to new threats and budgets after the end of the Cold War . The U . S . Navy ' s response was the Surface Combatant for the 21st Century ( SC – 21 ) program . This envisaged a destroyer called DD – 21 and a planned cruiser called CG – 21 . Budget cuts in November 2001 meant that SC – 21 became the less ambitious Future Surface Combatant program . The DD - 21 was renamed the DD ( X ) , which was later named the " Zumwalt " - class destroyer . By April 2002 , the DD ( X ) was to be the " foundation " for a family of surface combatants , including CG ( X ) as the successor to the CG – 21 . The " Ticonderoga " class cruisers will reach their retirement age of 35 years between 2021 and 2029 , although the U . S . Navy may use upgrades to extend their lives to 40 years . Next Generation Cruiser . The CG ( X ) program was announced on 1 November 2001 . An initial requirement for 18 CG ( X ) was raised to 19 under the plan for a 313 - ship Navy in 2005 . A reassessment in 2007 suggested splitting the CG ( X ) into two classes , fourteen Zumwalt - sized " escort cruisers " and five 23 , 000 ton ballistic missile defense ( BMD ) ships . There was political pressure for some or all of these ships to be nuclear powered , which would have given them the hull classification symbol of CGN ( X ) . The FY2009 budget called for procurement of the first CG ( X ) in 2011 , and the second in 2013 . On 1 February 2010 , U . S . President Barack Obama unveiled his proposed budget for FY2011 . This budget called for , among other things , canceling the entire CG ( X ) program . The program was canceled in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review . The CG ( X ) ' s mission will instead be performed by DDG - 51 Flight III destroyers , after the U . S . Navy concluded that the ships could rely on off - board and space - based sensors and so did not need a radar bigger than the DDG could carry . Design . Hull . In April 2002 , John Young , Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research , Development and Acquisition , stated that " the DD ( X ) hull will be the base from which they propose the design changes necessary to evolve this to CG ( X ) . That could include various things from lengthening the hull and changing the size , but it will be , to our view , likely the basic hull form shape , appropriately sized and with the proper features added to accommodate the CG ( X ) mission " . The Chief of Naval Operations claimed in 2005 that " the DD ( X ) hull and propulsion plant will be spiraled into the CG ( X ) platform with about 80 % design overlap " . In the same testimony , he stated that designing a new hull would cost about $ 4B . However , concerns began to grow about the stability of the " Zumwalt " s hull . Naval architect Ken Brower said in April 2007 that " as a ship pitches and heaves at sea , if you have tumblehome instead of flare , you have no righting energy to make the ship come back up . On the [ " Zumwalt " ] , with the waves coming at you from behind , when a ship pitches down , it can lose transverse stability as the stern comes out of the water - and basically roll over . " There were also doubts whether the Zumwalt hull was big enough to accommodate ballistic defense weapons , and a possible nuclear propulsion system . In July 2007 came the first suggestions that the AOA might recommend a two - class solution , a 14 , 000 ton " escort cruiser " based on the " Zumwalt " s stealthy " tumblehome " hull , and a ballistic missile defense ship of 23 , 000 tons . The latter would use a more conventional shape than the tumblehome , as its use of radars to search for missiles while on station would make a stealthy hull pointless . In July 2008 , Roscoe Bartlett of the House Seapower subcommittee stated that it was " unlikely the [ " Zumwalt " ] hull could be used in the CG ( X ) program " . Propulsion . The CG ( X ) would have used the IPS electric propulsion system of the " Zumwalt " , as of the FY09 budget estimates in February 2008 . The " Zumwalt " s gas turbines are capable of generating 78 MW , and that was thought barely sufficient for the radar and future weapon systems on the CG ( X ) - the working assumption is that the entire ship ' s electric load , including a Theater Ballistic Missile Defense ( TBMD ) radar will consume 31 MW . In July 2008 , Young said that " for the most capable radar suites under consideration , the [ " Zumwalt " ] hull cannot support the radar " . Meanwhile members of the House Projection Forces Subcommittee had been pressing the Navy to use nuclear power for major combatants , partly as a response to concerns about the price and availability of oil . They prompted studies in 2005 and 2006 , the second of which stated that nuclear power broke even at an oil price of $ 70 – $ 225 / barrel for escort ships of 21 - 26 , 000 tonnes with heavy radar use . This led to a requirement in the FY2008 Defense Authorization Act that all major combatant vessels be nuclear powered unless it was not in the national interest . The Navy studied nuclear power as a design option for the CG ( X ) , but has never announced whether it would prefer to build the CG ( X ) as a nuclear - powered ship - it would have added $ 600 – 800M to the initial cost of the ship , but save on running costs . Under normal budgeting practices , long lead - time items for nuclear propulsion would have needed to be procured in FY2009 if the main ship were to be procured in FY2011 . If the two - class solution had been pursued , it seems probable that the escort cruiser would have used gas turbines like the " Zumwalt " , and the larger ballistic missile defense ship would have been nuclear powered , and hence known as the CGN ( X ) . The AOA apparently looked at two options , using two of the " Seawolf " class submarines ' 34 MW reactors , and halving the 209 MW double reactor used in aircraft carriers . The first option would not even match the " Zumwalt " for power , while the second option probably would not fit into the " Zumwalt " hull . On the other hand , it would give plenty of headroom for future weapon systems such as directed - energy weapons and railguns , hence the proposal for the BMD ship of a larger hull with nuclear propulsion . Sensors . The CG ( X ) radar system would likely have been a development of the AN / SPY - 3 dual - band radar of the " Zumwalt " class . It might also have been influenced by the replacement for the AN / SPQ - 11 Cobra Judy missile - tracking radar on USNS " Observation Island " . As mentioned above , a future Theater Ballistic Missile Defense ( TBMD ) radar is being modelled as consuming 31 MW of electrical power , compared to 5 MW for the AEGIS system on an " Arleigh Burke " - class destroyer . Weapons . A CG ( X ) based on the " Zumwalt " hull would lose one or both of its guns , and replace them with more VLS launchers for anti - aircraft missiles . However , the " Zumwalt " s lack of capability in air defense and BMD was cited as a major reason for the near - cancellation of the class in July 2008 . Recent intelligence that P . R . China is developing targetable anti - ship ballistic missiles based on the DF - 21 appears to be shaping the Navy ' s thinking on the CG ( X ) ' s capabilities , when previously the " Zumwalt " s air defense was believed to be good enough to justify delaying the introduction of the CG ( X ) . The Kinetic Energy Interceptor ( KEI ) program is developing new weapons against ballistic missiles , but the KEI missiles take up six times more space than SM - 3s and a " Zumwalt " - sized hull could not carry a meaningful number . The KEI may be dropped from the CG ( X ) program .