Nuclear escorts and carrier surge operations

Would the US Navy benefit from a nuclear-powered Arleigh Burke-type cruiser or destroyer?

Possibly, but chiefly as a small carrier-linked escort force whose endurance and sustained speed reduce one major logistical constraint.

A viewer proposes a larger nuclear-powered Burke, which raises questions about lifecycle cost and fleet employment. Removing fuel and deactivating each of the nine American nuclear cruisers took about four to eight years, beyond the 18-month overhaul and refuelling periods during service. Long Beach received three reactor refuellings and could have used its final core for another decade, but the 1994 decision eliminated the remaining nuclear cruisers. Nuclear propulsion has its strongest operational value when an escort must follow a nuclear carrier across long distances at sustained speed. Food and other supplies still limit the ship, but propulsion fuel does not. Conventional escorts can become the logistical pace-setters when a carrier surges between theatres. A small force paired with carriers, plus perhaps a few ships for fuel-constrained operations in the High Arctic, fits the argument better than a nuclear replacement for the entire destroyer fleet. Cruiser classification would also suit that specialized role.