Key Points and Summary – Commissioned in 1961, USS Long Beach (CGN-9) was the first nuclear-powered surface combatant—part fleet shield, part technology demonstrator.
-Conceived for Cold War reach and staying power, she paired early phased-array radar with long- and medium-range missiles, later adding Harpoon and Phalanx as threats evolved.
-She circumnavigated the globe in the 1964 all-nuclear Sea Orbit task force, directed fighters and shot down enemy aircraft in Vietnam, and spent decades shadowing Soviet air and sea patrols. Retired in the post–Cold War drawdown, she was simply too unique and costly to refuel and modernize.
-Her legacy lives on in today’s Aegis cruisers—and in the cautionary math of nuclear surface ships.
USS Long Beach (CGN-9): The First Nuclear-Powered Surface Combatant
In the late 1950s, the United States faced a Soviet Navy that was growing in range, numbers, and ambition. Nuclear submarines promised undersea endurance; the question was whether surface forces could gain similar stamina and sustained speed.
The Navy’s answer was a capital-grade escort that could keep up with carriers, patrol far from logistics hubs, and power hungry new sensors without worrying about fuel: a nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser.
Nuclear propulsion promised three decisive things. First, endurance—weeks at high speed without refueling. Second, electrical headroom—enough power for large radars and future electronics. Third, strategic flexibility—a ship that could sprint or loiter as needed, regardless of the oiler schedule. USS Long Beach would test all three at once.
Design And Development: Powerplant First, Technology Everywhere
Laid down in 1957 and commissioned in 1961, USS Long Beach was built around two pressurized-water reactors driving twin shafts—an arrangement that gave her carrier-escort speed with effectively global range. She was also a systems ship, used to push the state of the art in sensors and combat direction:
A distinctive, slab-sided superstructure housed early shipboard phased-array radar (the SCANFAR family), years before the Aegis era.
The hull and topside spaces were designed for large missile magazines and multiple guidance radars, reflecting a fleet role focused on long-range air defense.
Designers retained conventional guns for close-in work and shore fire, and fitted ASW weapons to counter the submarine threat that defined the Cold War at sea.
In short, she was a technology pathfinder masquerading as a fleet escort—and the Navy intended to learn from every bolt.
What She Carried: From Talos To Phalanx
Weapons and sensors evolved across her long career, but the through-line was “layered” air defense with credible surface and ASW options.
Early Fit (1960s):
Long-Range SAM: Aft RIM-8 Talos twin-rail launcher—a heavyweight missile designed to kill bombers at very long ranges.
Medium-Range SAM: Forward RIM-2 Terrier system for the mid-range fight around the task force.
ASW: ASROC launcher and lightweight torpedoes to keep submarines honest.
Guns: 5-inch gun mounts for close-in defense and naval gunfire support.
Radars: The SCANFAR phased-array set for wide-area air search, paired with illuminators and directors to guide missiles.
Mid-Life Upgrades (1970s–1980s):
Missile Modernization: Terrier systems were updated to fire Standard missiles; Talos was removed as the Navy retired the type.
New Sensors: The maintenance-intensive early arrays gave way to modern 3D air-search radars, still backed by robust fire-control directors.
Anti-Ship And CIWS: Harpoon canisters added real sea-skimming strike punch; Phalanx CIWS tightened the close-in defense against sea-skimmers and leakers.
EW & Comms: Successive electronic-warfare suites, decoys, and improved communications knit the cruiser into evolving carrier battle group doctrine.
By the 1980s, she was no longer the “pure” long-range Talos cruiser of her youth, but a balanced, still-potent escort with deep magazines and strong sensors.
Sea Orbit: A Nuclear Task Force Proves The Point
In 1964, USS Long Beach joined USS Enterprise (nuclear carrier) and USS Bainbridge (nuclear frigate/cruiser) for Operation Sea Orbit—a non-stop, around-the-world cruise by an all-nuclear task group.
The point wasn’t sightseeing; it was strategy. The three ships demonstrated that the U.S. could project a self-sustaining naval force globally, independent of oilers and foreign ports. It was a message to Moscow and to American taxpayers: nuclear power wasn’t just for submarines.
USS Enterprise. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Vietnam: Fighter Direction And Missile Kills
In the Gulf of Tonkin and the approaches to North Vietnam, Long Beach served as both radar picket and fighter director, using her long-range sensors to cue carrier aircraft. She also made history by shooting down enemy aircraft with ship-launched surface-to-air missiles at long range—proof that blue-water air defense could reach far beyond the carrier’s deck. Those engagements helped validate the layered-defense idea that would later define the Aegis era.
The Cold War Grind: Shadowing Bears And Surface Groups
Between headline operations, USS Long Beach did the daily work of deterrence: tracking Soviet Tu-95 “Bear” patrols, shadowing surface action groups, and knitting together air pictures for carriers from the North Pacific to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.
Nuclear endurance gave commanders options—sprint to cover a gap, stay on station during tense watches, or reposition without waiting for an oiler. In an era of cat-and-mouse signals and probing flights, that mattered.
Accidents, Alterations, And Lessons Learned
Being first meant living with teething pains. Early phased-array sets were powerful but maintenance-intensive, driving later sensor swaps. The ship’s sprawling topside electronics forced constant weight and balance management. Like other Cold War warships, she saw incremental refits that added capability but also complexity; each new box and antenna demanded power, cooling, and crew training. The lesson the Navy took forward was clear: if you want a big, digital combat system, design the ship and system together from day one—a principle later embedded in Aegis cruisers and destroyers.
Why She Was Retired
By the early 1990s, the Cold War had ended, the Navy was shrinking, and budgets were tight. Keeping USS Long Beach in frontline service would have required an expensive nuclear refueling and deep modernization—for a one-of-a-kind ship with unique systems, old launchers, no vertical launch cells, and high manning compared to newer designs.
Meanwhile, Ticonderoga-class Aegis cruisers and Arleigh Burke destroyers offered modern combat systems, VLS magazines, and lower life-cycle costs.
The calculus wasn’t sentimental; it was arithmetic. Rather than refuel and rebuild a single ship, the Navy chose to invest in fleets of Aegis/VLS combatants. Long Beach decommissioned in 1995 and entered the nuclear ship-recycling pipeline in the years that followed.
(Left to right) Australian ANZAC Class frigate HMAS Stuart (FFH 153) and USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) wait off the coast of the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, as they prepare for Flight Test Aegis Weapon System-32 (FTM-32), held March 28, 2024.
What Her Legacy Looks Like Today
1) Nuclear Surface Endurance—With Asterisks. Long Beach proved that nuclear power could give a surface combatant unmatched range and speed of response. It also proved the cost and infrastructure burden of refueling and disposing of reactors in single-ship classes. The Navy built additional nuclear cruisers afterward, but ultimately standardized around gas-turbine ships for cost and flexibility.
2) Phased Arrays At Sea. Her early phased-array radars were the spiritual ancestors of Aegis/AN-SPY-1 and today’s even more powerful arrays. The lesson wasn’t just technical—crew training, maintenance culture, and power/cooling integration must be designed as part of the combat system from the start.
3) Layered Air Defense Works. From long-range cueing and missile shots in Vietnam to close-in upgrades in the 1980s, Long Beach helped validate the idea of defense in depth—outer-air battle, mid-range engagement, and point defense—coordinated by a common radar picture.
4) The Value Of Pathfinders. Not every first-of-kind becomes a template. Sometimes the point of a ship is to learn fast, at sea, and carry those lessons into the next class. That’s precisely what Long Beach did for sensors, power, and doctrine.
Was She “Worth It”?
If the measure is unit cost, probably not by peacetime standards. If the measure is what the Navy learned—how to field big arrays at sea, how to integrate missiles and sensors, how to operate a nuclear cruiser with carriers across oceans—the answer tilts toward yes. Without Long Beach, the journey to today’s Aegis/VLS fleet would likely have been slower and riskier.
Final Appraisal of USS Long Beach
USS Long Beach (CGN-9) was both historic and transitional—the first of her kind and, in key ways, the last. She proved what nuclear power could do for a surface combatant, pioneered shipboard phased arrays, and showed how a missile cruiser could shape an air battle a hundred miles from the ship. She also exposed the cost, complexity, and manpower that come with unique, cutting-edge platforms.
In a Cold War defined by reach, persistence, and information, Long Beach gave the U.S. Navy all three—and handed the bill and the blueprint to the ships that followed.
About the Author: Harry J. Kazianis
Harry J. Kazianis (@Grecianformula) is Editor-In-Chief and President of National Security Journal. He was the former Senior Director of National Security Affairs at the Center for the National Interest (CFTNI), a foreign policy think tank founded by Richard Nixon based in Washington, DC. Harry has over a decade of experience in think tanks and national security publishing. His ideas have been published in the NY Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and many other outlets worldwide. He has held positions at CSIS, the Heritage Foundation, the University of Nottingham, and several other institutions related to national security research and studies. He is the former Executive Editor of the National Interest and the Diplomat. He holds a Master’s degree focusing on international affairs from Harvard University.
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