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The following was released by the Office of the Assistant to the
Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs):

                                           No. 403-94
                                           (703)697-5342 (media)
                                           (703)697-3189(copies)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE      July 7, 1994        (703)697-
                                           5737(public/industry)

  NAVY TO COMMISSION GUIDED MISSILE CRUISER PORT ROYAL (CG 73)

     The Department of the Navy will commission the guided
missile cruiser Port Royal (CG 73) in a ceremony to be held on
Saturday, July 9, 1994 at the Port of Savannah, Georgia,
commencing at 10 a.m.

     Senator Sam Nunn will be the ceremony's principal speaker.
Mrs. Susan Baker, wife of former Secretary of State and Senior
Counsel and Chief of Staff to the President, James A. Baker, III,
is the ship's sponsor.

     Port Royal commemorates battles of the American Revolution
and the Civil War.  In 1779, South Carolina troops under Colonel
William Moultrie defeated a British amphibious attack.  In 1861,
a joint expedition under Flag Officer Samuel DuPont landed
against strong Confederate resistance and secured strategic Port
Royal Sound, which became an important base for Union blockading
squadrons;  the sidewheel gunboat Port Royal saw combat service
on the Atlantic and gulf coasts during the Civil War.

     Port Royal is the last of 27 Ticonderoga class Aegis guided
missile cruisers scheduled to be built.   Port Royal's primary
mission will be to provide protection to other ships and troops
ashore from tactical ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as
aircraft.  These ships are equipped with the Navy's modern Aegis
combat weapons system, which combines space-age communication,
radar and weapons technologies in a single platform for unlimited
flexibility.  These new cruisers will replace older, less capable
ships that are being taken out of service as the Navy reduces
spending while maintaining quality as part of our overall plan to
recapitalize the fleet.

     The ship is equipped with Standard surface-to-air missiles,
Harpoon anti-ship missiles, antisubmarine rockets, torpedoes,
Tomahawk cruise missiles in forward and aft vertical launching
systems; two fully automated, radar controlled Phalanx close-in
weapons systems; two five-inch guns and electronic warfare
systems.  The ship is also equipped with the LAMPS (Light
Airborne MultiPurpose System) MK III combat suite, which
encompasses the launch, recovery, stowage, and electronic support
for the SH-60B Seahawk helicopter.

     Port Royal is 567 feet in length, has a beam of 55 feet and
displaces approximately 9,466 tons fully loaded.  The ship will
have a crew of 28 officers and 342 enlisted men.  Captain
Nicholas Richards, U.S. Navy, a native of Sweet Home, Oregon, is
the ship's commanding officer.
                               -USN-