Why retire the remaining Ticonderoga-class cruisers?

Are the remaining Ticonderoga-class cruisers being retired mainly because spare parts are scarce?

No; the decisive problem is that the surviving ships are roughly three to four decades old and their heavily used hulls are worn out.

The cruisers discussed in May 2026 had entered service between the late 1980s and early 1990s. The reply places their age around or beyond the service life originally expected of the class. It uses Ticonderoga's early-1980s introduction and a thirty-year life to argue that replacements should have begun appearing around 2011. Spare parts remain relevant, but the emphasis is accumulated structural wear in old and heavily used hulls.