The first cruiser of this class was , which used two twin-armed Mark-26 missile launchers, fore and aft. The commissioning of the sixth ship of the class, opened a new era in surface warfare as the first Aegis ship outfitted with the Martin Marietta Mark-41 Vertical Launching System (VLS), allowing a wider missile selection, more firepower, and survivability. The improved AN/SPY-1B radar went to sea in , ushering in another advance in Aegis capabilities. introduced the AN/UYK-43/44 computers, which provide increased processing capabilities.