The counterfactual leads into a classification argument about whether the U.S. Navy still operates true cruisers. The Ticonderoga class is treated primarily as a destroyer leader whose cruiser designation reflects command responsibility within a group. Historically, a cruiser was also expected to deploy independently as a global-presence ship or to stand in for a larger task group. On that functional definition, the openly classified Arleigh Burke destroyer often fills the independent, general-purpose role more convincingly.
Notable Point · 29:34-31:08
Cruiser labels, destroyer leaders, and independent presence
The video distinguishes an organisational cruiser label from the independent global-presence role that historically helped define a cruiser.