Soviet battlecruisers could have revived Montana

If the United States had built the Montana class, would it have kept them instead of the Iowa class?

The newest ships would likely be retained, and Soviet postwar capital ships could have provided the reason to complete Montana in the first place.

The newest battleships would probably be retained if Montana had entered service, so age alone favours Montana over the Iowa class. Construction still depends on an external threat: Soviet battlecruisers appearing around 1946 could have justified completing Montana or a derivative. The same pressure might have led the Royal Navy to finish a Lion-class variant or build another Vanguard-type ship. The counterfactual depends on a postwar capital-ship challenge strong enough to preserve gun-armed fleet competition.