USN Navy Strike Cruiser CSGN (1976 concept)

The US navy's foray into nuclear powered cruisers began with the USS Long beach in 1961. The concept would later be refined in the form of the Virgina and California class Anit aircraft cruisers. Eventually, the advent of the AEGIS combat system in the 60s and 70s lead to studies of mounting this system on a large nuclear powered surface combatant. The program was called the Navy Strike Cruiser or CSGN (Cruiser, Strike, Guided Missile, Nuclear powered). Various configurations were studied, ranging from simple AEGIS conversions of the hulls of the Virgina Class cruisers, to more radical designs such as what I have depicted.

Defense spending reductions under the Carter administration would ultimately kill the CSGN program. Instead, the Spruance class destroyer hull would be modified to carry the AEGIS system and subsequently redesignated a cruiser, eventually becoming the Ticonderoga class cruiser

CSGN 1976 specifications:
Length - 709' 7 "
Beam at waterline - 76' 5"
Draft - 22' 4"
Reactors - 2 modified D2G
Speed - 30 Knots+
4 quad launchers with Harpoon
2 quad launchers with Tomahawk
2 Mark 26 launchers with 44 missiles (SM-2 and ASROC) forward and 64 missiles aft
2 twin 12.75 inch torpedo tubes
1 8-in/55 cal MCLWG