Throughout the 1980s, during strident Cold War tensions and the phenomenal Soviet military expansion program that included putting nuclear-powered Kirov-class battlecruisers into service, the U.S. Navy did the astonishing act of reactivating its four Iowa-class battleships. This move was in response to President Reagan’s notion of a 600-ship navy to counterbalance the dramatic build-up in Soviet armed forces.
Originally retired after World War II due to the dominance of aircraft carriers, the Iowa-class battleships were comprehensively modernized to adapt them for modern naval warfare. These included the addition of Tomahawk and Harpoon missile systems, advanced radar and fire control systems, and Phalanx Close-In Weapons Systems against modern threats. Complementing the 16-inch guns, which were still to be considered the centerpiece of the battleship, the new missile systems gave tremendous reach to the offensive capabilities of the ships.
Despite these enhancements, the reactivated Iowa-class battleships did not see open-ocean combat. However, Missouri and Wisconsin did see active service in Operation Desert Storm, providing their unique services as a contributor to naval gunfire. That service reignited arguments about their usefulness and relative efficiency in the 1990s.
By the time the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, the impetus behind such an enormous military buildup had already faded. By 1992, the recommissioned battleships were some of the first to be decommissioned once more. The high cost of the reactivation was estimated to be $500 million per ship-and the impracticability of maintaining their old weaponry in a modern context were valid arguments against continuing their service. Besides, with the development of modern 5-inch guns carried aboard Arleigh Burke destroyers and Ticonderoga cruisers, even the battleship’s 16-inch guns could not hold a candle to their counterparts.
By 2006, all four Iowa-class battleships had been stricken from the Naval Vessel Registry to be converted into museum ships-a true end of an era. It spoke to a revolution in naval warfare strategy and to the evolution of military technologies where such behemoths of the sea would no longer be required.