How a DDG became an Aegis cruiser

The Ticonderoga class sat between destroyer ancestry and cruiser responsibilities. Added command facilities and the need to coordinate Aegis air warfare led to its redesignation as a cruiser in 1980. The ships were initially meant to support much larger nuclear-powered strike cruisers, but cancellation of those ships left the smaller Ticonderogas carrying the cruiser role. Their double-ended missile battery reflects the original air-warfare mission. The later DDG(X) comparison shows how little the label alone says about size or function.