Originally, "Port Royal" was to be outfitted with the experimental shipboard mounted High Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWEPS). Based on a megawatt-class deuterium/fluorine chemical laser, HELWEPS would have replaced the standard 5-inch forward gun. HELWEPS was to have been used to destroy missiles up to about away, or to burn out electro-optical sensors about away. The outfitting, scheduled to occur in Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme, California in 1994 was cancelled, along with all plans to install HELWEPS on "Ticonderoga"-class cruisers.