I'll go ahead and detail what I assume Timothy said to klag.
The Ticonderogas were/are very tight ships, and while successful they can't be said to be wholly without fault. The Spruance hull can only be pushed so far. Pressed into a CG mission for which they weren't really designed, I understand the Ticos to be somewhat subpar on comms channels and accommodation for flag staff. Certainly they are not as good of sea boats as the Sprucans, and in fact are so overloaded that they are experiencing some superstructure cracking, and bulwarks were necessary to keep the bow dry. They are quite lively in a seaway, which doesn't show up on a Jane's spec sheet but certainly affects maintainability, operability and crew effectiveness. Aluminum was used extensively in the superstructure, as there was just no other way around the topweight. When the USN sat down post-Burke to do a
clean-sheet-of-paper Aegis CG, it came out quite a lot larger than the Ticonderogas - 13500 vs 9500 long tons, give or take.
In the meantime, this ship has some advantages beyond just shoving the straight Tico superstructure onto a larger hull. By no means all-inclusive:
- The Oto 127mm is roughly doubly as capable as the Mark 45 (which is an astonishingly lightweight mount compared to its competitors)
- This ship probably has 64-round Mk 26 GMLS, rather than the 44-round magazines of Ticonderoga. Presumably the USN would have preferred 64-round, as this is what CSGN had.
- The SPG-62 illuminators have better fields of view.
- The helo deck is larger, as is the hangar (probably)
- NSSM can be shipped (although God Himself only knows why you'd care about having it on an Aegis ship)
- Presumably all-steel construction, with superior space for accommodation etc.
- Superior ship handling
It can certainly be argued that these gains aren't
enough relative to the additional cost, but by no means can it be suggested that this upgrade is pointless.