The high box-like superstructure contained the SCANFAR system, consisting of the AN/SPS-32 and AN/SPS-33 phased array radars. One of the reasons "Long Beach" was a single-ship class was because she was an experimental platform for these radars, which were precursors to the AN/SPY-1 phased array systems later installed on Aegis equipped "Ticonderoga"-class cruisers and s. Photos taken at her commissioning and for some time thereafter, show that the taller, narrower AN/SPS-33 panels were not installed on the superstructure until a later date. At the time, "Long Beach" had the highest bridge of any ship smaller than an aircraft carrier.