USN Decommissions Cowpens in Continuing End of Ticonderoga Class

USS Cowpens, which was instrumental in the fight against terrorism following the 9/11 attacks and the war in Iraq as well as being credited with the deployment of the Tomahawk into combat, was decommissioned at the Naval Base San Diego after 33 years of active duty. The ceremony took place on August 27 as part of the U.S. Navy’s planned retirement of the Ticonderoga Class first designed in the 1970s as guided-missile destroyers but completed as guided-missile cruisers.

Named after the pivotal “Battle of Cowpens” during the American Revolutionary War, she was part of the small number of the class built at Bath Iron Works in Maine. She was ordered in 1986 and laid down the following year and commissioned as CG-63 in March 1991. Her name gave way to the nickname “Mighty Moo” according to Stars & Stripes while her sailors became the “Thundering Herd.”

She earned that reputation due to her role in the deployments of the Tomahawk. The Navy credits Cowpens with some of the first launches of the weapon and says the vessel helped to establish the Tomahawk as a feared weapon, according to Stars & Stripes. She reportedly launched 10 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Iraq as part of the enforcement of the “No Fly Zone” that was established to protect the ethnic minorities in the country. 

USN credits Cowpens with launching Tomahawks into combat -- seen here in March 2003 launch  

Cowpens was deployed as part of the USS Kitty Hawk battle group for Operation Iraqi Freedom. She is credited as the first warship in March 2003 to launch the Tomahawk into Iraq during the fight against Saddam Hussein. 

During her decommissioning, she was celebrated for participating in many operations and exercises, contributing significantly to U.S. naval power projection and security. The operations ranged from enforcing no-fly zones to conducting maritime security and providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.

Apart from war-related operations, the ship also played key roles in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. Cowpens helped to provide aid to the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

She was the second ship to bear the name, and the 17th ship with combat capabilities centered on the AEGIS Weapon System and outfitted with the Vertical Launching System (VLS), allowing greater missile selection and firepower. At 9,600 tons displacement and 567 feet in length, she was reported to have a top speed of 32.5 knots and be extremely agile and maneuverable. 

Making a high speed turn off Yokosuka, Japan in 2012

The Navy decommissioned the first of the class in the early 2000s, with reports Cowpens was to have been decommissioned in 2013. Instead, in 2015 she underwent an upgrade that was set to carry her into the 2040s. The Navy however began retiring the class in 2023 with 16 ships now decommissioned of a class of 27. An earlier schedule said Cowpens would go in 2026. However, in 2023 her retirement plan was set and confirmed in March of this year. The Navy now plans to have retired all the Ticonderoga Class by 2027 with the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers taking their role until the commissioning of the new DDG(X) destroyers.

Following the decommissioning and inactivation, Cowpens is set to be towed to the Navy’s inactive ship facility in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where it will be in a Logistic Support Asset (LSA) status.