Крейсер УРО класса «Тикондерога» ВМС США «Виксбург» (CG 69)

US Navy Ticonderoga class cruiser

USS Vicksburg (CG 69) is a guided missile cruiser serving in the United States Navy. She is named for the Siege of Vicksburg fought during the American Civil War. Vicksburg was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, at Pascagoula, Mississippi and commissioned on 14 November 1992. With her guided missiles and rapid fire cannons, Vicksburg is capable of facing threats in the air, on the sea, ashore, and underneath the sea. She is also capable of carrying two SH 60 Sea Hawk Light Airborne Multi Purpose System (LAMPS III) helicopters. Vicksburg was originally named Port Royal, but the name was changed before the keel was laid. She was the only Ticonderoga class vessel to have a formal name change until Robert Smalls. Port Royal was later named Port Royal. The previous Vicksburg was a light cruiser during and after World War II. Vicksburgs crest has two stars on the streamer in the eagle's beak representing the two battle stars awarded to her predecessor.

Vicksburg was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding, at Pascagoula, Mississippi. Her keel was laid down on 30 May 1990, and she was launched on 7 September 1991. Vicksburg was sponsored by Tricia Lott, wife of United States Senator, Trent Lott. On 12 October 1991, Mrs. Lott christened CG 69 as Vicksburg. She was commissioned on 14 November 1992. On her maiden cruise in 1994, Vicksburg was assigned to the Saratoga battle group, which was stationed off the coast of Montenegro. Vicksburg participated in Operation Deny Flight and Operation Provide Promise, serving as an airspace command and control platform. In May 1994, Vicksburg participated in NATO's "Dynamic Impact 94" exercise in the western Mediterranean, and in August 1994 Vicksburg joined Operation Able Vigil, helping to intercept Cuban migrants crossing the Florida Straits. In 1997, Vicksburg deployed to the Mediterranean Sea with the John F. Kennedy carrier battle group (CVBG). In 1998, Vicksburg and Hué City had problems integrating AEGIS Baseline 6 and Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), rendering the ships unavailable for service. The John F. Kennedy CVBG deployed in September 1999 without Vicksburg and Hué City. In 2001, Vicksburg and the rest of the John F. Kennedy CVBG extensively tested the CEC system. In December 2004, Vicksburg and the John F. Kennedy battlegroup returned from a six month deployment to the Middle East. Vicksburg departed on a surge deployment to the middle east on 26 January 2006. In February, Vicksburg became the first US Navy ship to refuel from a new Defense Fuel Supply Point in Djibouti. Vicksburg returned in June 2006. On 16 February 2007, Vicksburg was awarded the 2006 Battle "E" award. She was part of Carrier Strike Group Twelve, which was led by Enterprise until December 2012. 25 January 2008, Vicksburg returned to Mayport following a six month deployment to the Persian Gulf. In February 2009, she deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group.

In 2010, Vicksburg deployed for a three month Theater Security Cooperation Surge deployment to Northern Europe. The ship conducted exercises with the Norwegian Navy and then participated in the Joint Warrior 10 1 multinational exercise. Vicksburg deployed with the Enterprise CVBG in March 2012 on the carrier's final deployment. Vicksburg visited Piraeus, Greece in late March 2012. Vicksburg conducted operations with FS Cassard (D 614) April 16–24, 2012. Vicksburg visited Bahrain at the end of May and again in August. Vicksburg visited Lisbon, Portugal on October 17, 2012. Vicksburg returned to Mayport in November 2012. The US Navy was planning to retire Vicksburg along with eight other Ticonderoga class cruisers in fiscal year 2013 in line with US Defense Department budget reductions. The ship was scheduled to be decommissioned on 31 March 2013. Language inserted into the FY13 House of Representatives Defense Bill retained Vicksburg and two other of her sister ships that were slated for decommissioning. Retaining the ships in the active fleet was not supported by the United States Secretary of Defense, but the outcome was determined by the final FY13 Defense Bill negotiated with the United States Senate. Vicksburg and two other Ticonderoga class cruisers were retained under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. In 2014, the cruiser participated in Joint Warrior 14 2, a United Kingdom led multinational exercise in British coastal waters. The training was designed to provide allied forces a multiwarfare environment to prepare for global operations. On 4 December 2014, Vicksburg departed Naval Station Mayport to relieve Leyte Gulf as the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) flagship and to support theater security cooperation efforts in Europe. Vicksburg relieved Leyte Gulf as SNMG2 Flagship in Naples on 20 December 2014. Vicksburg and SNMG2 deployed to the Black Sea 4 March 2015. Vicksburg and SNMG2 visited Varna, Bulgaria 7–8 March and Constanta, Romania around 16 March 2015. Vicksburg and SNMG2 left the Black sea around 20 March. In April, Vicksburg and SNMG2 visited Faslane, Scotland along with Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Groups One and Two for Joint Warrior 15 1. In May, Vicksburg and SNMG2 participated in the anti submarine exercise Dynamic Mongoose. The ship returned to Mayport on 11 July 2015. On 1 July 2016, Vicksburg was transferred from Carrier Strike Group Twelve to the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and entered the Navy's Cruiser Modernization program. The ship's homeport was changed to Norfolk and the crew was reduced from 350 to less than 50. In 2017, BAE Systems announced it was awarded a special selected restricted availability (SSRA) contract for up to $42.9 million. The work was planned for April to September 2017 at BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair and was part of Vicksburg's modernization.

In January 2020, Vicksburg was sent to BAE Systems for an $175 million, 18 month Service Life Extension Program (SLEP). In May 2022, Vicksburg was reported to be 85% completed with its modernization and was expected to be complete by summer 2023. According to Rep. Kay Granger (R Texas), "Since 2020, the Navy has awarded nearly $500 million in contracts to upgrade the cruiser." The Navy requested to decommission Vicksburg in its FY23 and FY24 budgets. Navy Undersecretary Erik Raven stated that this was due to the ship's "material condition, life remaining, cost, time to upgrade and the warfighting value." In March 2023, the Navy submitted to Congress a list of 11 ships it sought to retire, including Vicksburg which has been in the modernization program since 2016. According to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro in April 2023, Vicksburg and Cowpens “will never see another deployment, regardless of how much money we put into them.” The Navy reported that costs of the modernization have increased to $500 million. In March 2024, the Navy announced plans to inactivate Vicksburg on 29 June 2024.

Vicksburg is featured prominently in the 2012 naval thriller, Fire of the Raging Dragon, by Don Brown.