Reactivation (1982)
As part of President Ronald Reagan's and Navy Secretary John Lehman's effort to create a 600-ship Navy, New Jersey was reactivated in 1982 and moved under tow to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for modernization. At the time of the reactivation the Navy envisioned using New Jersey and her sister ship Iowa to meet sustained global requirements and relieve the strain on the Navy created by an increase in U.S. commitments to the Indian Ocean and Caribbean Sea regions. During this time the Navy developed several proposals to update their battleships to carry cruise missiles and anti-ship missile, as well as point defense system mounts. Preliminary modernizations schemes included the removal of four of the ten 5 inch gun mounts on New Jersey to make room for the armored box launchers that would be required to carry and launch the BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles. At one point the NATO Sea Sparrow was to be installed on the reactivated battleships; however, it was determined that the system could not withstand the overpressure effects when firing the main battery.
New Jersey's modernization was unique in that she was to be the only reactivated Iowa-class battleship to lose a gun turret. At the time the Navy made the announcement plans were underway to remove New Jersey's No. 3 16 in gun turret (located aft of the superstructure). In its place the Navy planned to install one of two systems: a vertical launching missile magazine which would have enabled New Jersey to carry an additional 48 Tomahawk or Harpoon missiles, or using the space generated by a removed gun turret for aircraft related updates centering on VTOL or V/STOL type aircraft; however these ideas were ultimately dropped, and New Jersey retained her No. 3 Gun Turret during her 1980s career.
Over the next several months the ship was upgraded with the most advanced weaponry available; among the new weapons systems installed were four MK 141 quad cell launchers for 16 AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, eight Armored Box Launcher (ABL) mounts for 32 BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles, and a quartet of the United States Navy's Phalanx Close In Weapon System (CIWS) gatling guns for defense against enemy anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft. New Jersey also received eight RQ-2 Pioneer Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, which are remotely controlled drones that replaced the helicopters previously used to spot for her nine 16"/50 Mark 7 guns. Also included in her modernization were upgrades to radar and fire control systems for her guns and missiles, and improved electronic warfare capabilities.
Because New Jersey had been recalled for service in the Vietnam War her modernization differed from her sisters for a number of reasons. When reactivated in 1967 New Jersey had her 20 mm Oerlikon and 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns removed, and received improved electronic warfare capabilities. This alteration helped reduce the time it took get New Jersey recommissioned: since she was not in her World War II format the only major physical alteration to New Jersey involved the removal of four of her ten 5 inch gun mounts to make room for the Armored Box Launchers. In addition to saving time, this also made New Jersey cheaper to reactivate since the cost needed to modernize the battleship only included the addition of missile and gun system mounts, electronic warfare suites, and improved radar and gun spotter technology.
Since the Tomahawk missile system had not yet been adopted for use during New Jersey's original update the Navy announced plans to divert assets from two of their Spruance-class destroyers to install the necessary Tomahawk launchers. Similarly, assets were diverted from two Farragut-class guided missile destroyers to allow for the installation of Harpoon launchers on New Jersey.
On 28 December 1982 New Jersey was formally recommissioned at Long Beach, California, her new homeport. The recommissioning of New Jersey marked a return of the world's last battleships after a 13-year absence from the world's oceans.
Read more about this topic: USS New Jersey (BB-62)