[Goldsborough]

So, can someone make the case for keeping these aging cruisers when everything I can envision them doing is already being done by the Burke class destroyers at lower operating costs?

Those newer destroyers are nearly the size of the the cruisers of yesteryear. The Burke class vessels are essentially "pocket cruisers" now that they have enhanced cruise missile launch capability.

[meatloaf]

Until I looked them up I didn’t realize these ships were built on a destroyer hull. One of them, the Lake Erie, was the ship that took out a satellite in orbit. With 122 missiles available for immediate launch, these ships are still an enemy’s nightmare.

That’s a lot of firepower in a relatively small package. That’s needed if we have to augment a carrier’s protective screen in a hurry.