USS Lake Erie (CG 70) was built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Her keel was laid March 6, 1990, and she was launched on July 13, 1991. Upon completion of her sea-trials after construction, Lake Erie transferred to the Pacific Fleet and was commisioned on July 24, 1993, as the twenty-fourth Ticonderoga Class guided-missile cruiser in her homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She was the first U.S. Navy warship to be commissioned in Hawaii.

USS Lake Erie was one of the first two US Navy first ships to receive TBMD system modifications and SM2 Block IV-A missiles, as part of the US Navy Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD). It was scheduled to conduct at-sea testing, develop core doctrine and tactics, and serve as focal points for developing the very latest theater ballistic defense technology. The Lake Erie, along with the USS Port Royal, has served as an operational unit for the development of doctrine and training, in addition to performance validation of the Navy Area TBMD Program.

As part of a seven ship Battle Group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Constellation (CV 64), USS Lake Erie entered the Arabian Gulf, on January 11, 1995. The Constellation BG deployed on November 10, 1994, and spent most of December in the western Pacific. The battle group's arrival strengthened U.S. presence in the gulf and supports U.N. initiatives in the region, including Operation Southern Watch. In March, the guided-missile cruiser took part in a two-week, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman (February 5-19). The purpose of Exercise Sharem 110 was to gather data and evaluate tactics to counter the growing third-world diesel submarine threat. Throughout the exercise, USS Topeka (SSN 754) simulated a diesel submarine, while CG 70 and USS Vandergrift (FFG 48) rounded out the surface forces. The first week of the exercises took place in the southern Persian Gulf. The second week was held outside the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman. The ships of the Constellatin Battle Group returned to their home ports in May.

USS Lake Erie took part in Pacific Joint Task Force Exercise (PACJTFEX) 97-1, from February 10 through 21, 1997, off the southern California coast. PAC JTFEX 97-1 is part of a series of exercises previously named "FLEETEX." The new name reflects the increasing focus on preparing naval forces for joint operations with other U.S. military services.

During a deployment with the Constellation Battle Group, USS Chosin (CG 65) turned over the duties of being regional Air Defense Commander to USS Lake Erie in July 1997. In early August 1997, CG 70 was invoveled in two major Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (TBMD) exercises in the Arabian Gulf named Arabian Skies. During the exercises, Connie's Battle Group demonstrated a viable TBMD capability using the existing command and control architecture. The cruiser, with the Constellation BG, then departed 5th Fleet's Area of Responsibility (AoR) on August 17, 1997, on schedule to continue its routine six-month deployment in the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Battle Group entered the Arabian Sea on May 16. After departing the Arabian Gulf, the Connie BG concluded its tour in the 5th Fleet with a joint-combined exercise with military forces from Pakistan. Dubbed Inspired Siren 97-2 and Inspired Alert 97-2, the exercises incorporated both surface combatants and air components, respectively.

In August 1998, modifications were made aboard the USS Lake Erie and the USS Port Royal (CG 73), which consisted of modifications to the Aegis weapons system on board Ticonderoga-class cruisers; a modification, known as linebacker, and which uses specialized computing and radar software and hardware to provide improved tracking and reporting capabilities, and when coupled with the SM-2 Block IVA, intercept Tactical Ballistic Missiles (TBM). Ballistic missile testing afforded Port Royal and other participants an opportunity to flex the capabilities of the current Aegis weapon system against a live ballistic missile target and gave a representation of how the modified system tracks and destroys TBMs. USS Lake Erie and USS Port Royal were then to conduct at sea testing, develop core doctrine and tactics, and serve as focal points for putting the TBMD technology in the hands of the warfighters in the rest of the fleet. Sailors on board both ships were also to provide early feedback to the technical community and influence the final design of the TBMD system. Successful Linebacker sea trials at the Pacific Missile Range, Kauai, Hawaii took place in the fall of 1998.

December 17, 1999 CG 70 returned to its homeport at Naval Station Pearl Harbor after completing a six-month deployment to the western Pacific and Arabian Gulf, with USS Constellation (CV 64) Battle Group.

In March 2000, the US Navy began ALI live fire tests and had successfully conducted the first Controlled Test Vehicle. The USS Shiloh had conducted the first ALI live firing test in September 1999 and had successfully demonstrated the launch and flight sequence through third stage separation as well as verified flight stability at extreme altitude. Though the original plan had been to conduct all Flight Test Round shots from the Shiloh, the need for further testing conflicted with that ship's operational schedule. Therefore, it was decided by the CNO to shift to USS Lake Erie to conduct the next firings in the ALI testing program. Lake Erie, already equipped with Area Linebacker modifications, was, as of March 2, 2000, receiving ALI equipment modifications in Pearl Harbor and was to conduct system checks and training to support the planned test firings.

In early July 2000, the US Navy announced that USS Lake Erie had been designated the Navy's theater-wide test ship for the AEGIS Lightweight Exoatmospheric Projectile intercept flight-test series. For the next two years, she would be dedicated to conducting these critical tests. Her homeport in Pearl Harbor, HI., made the ship's participation in tests at the Pacific Missile Range Facility off Kauai cost-effective with the Navy anticipating that the ship would not deploy operationally again for about two years.

In January 2001, CG 70 conducted the Aegis Light Exo-Atmospheric Projectile (LEAP) Intercept Flight Test Round (FTR-1A) mission in the mid-Pacific using the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii. Equipped with Aegis LEAP Intercept (ALI) computer programs and hardware, th cruiser launched an SM-3 missile demonstrating third stage airframe stability and control through nominal kinetic warhead fourth stage separation. The SM-3 is the Navy's new exo-atmospheric missile developed to counter theater ballistic missile (TBM) threats outside the atmosphere.

February 9, 2001 USS Lake Erie sortied from Pearl Harbor to assist along with Coast Guard boats and cutters with rescue efforts after a surfacing U.S. submarine, the USS Greeneville (SSN 772), struck a Japanese fishing vessel at approximately 1:45 p.m. (HST) about nine miles south of the Diamond Head crater off Honolulu, Hawaii. The fishing vessel, named "Ehime Maru", rapidly flooded and sank within 10 minutes in 1,800 feet of water. Twenty-six of 35 aboard were rescued. The "Ehime Maru" had been on a fishing and research mission when the Greeneville rapidly surfaced and collided with its stern. The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine was, at the time, conducting an "emergency ballast tank blow," a procedure used to bring subs to the surface in the event of an emergency, although in this case it was used for training, on a one-day cruise with 16 military and civilian guests.

January 28, 2002 The Missile Defense Agency and the Navy conducted a successful flight test in the continuing development of a Sea-Based Midcourse (SMD) Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). Flight Mission-2 (FM-2) involved the launch of a developmental Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) and kinetic warhead (KW) interceptor from the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie and an Aries target missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The target was launched at 9 p.m., EST, January 26. About eight minutes later, Lake Erie, equipped with Aegis Lightweight Exo-tmospheric Projectile (LEAP) computer programs and equipment, and having tracked the target with the Aegis SPY-1 radar and developed a fire-control solution, launched the newly-developed SM-3. The SM-3 acquired, tracked and diverted toward the target, demonstrating SM-3 fourth-stage Kinetic Warhead (KW) guidance, navigation and control. Although not a primary objective, during this early developmental test, the KW was aimed at the target, resulting in a hit-to-kill intercept at approximately 9:18 p.m., EST. It was the fourth in a planned series of nine developmental test flights for the SMD program. The mission also included the first fully operational SM-3 with a live Solid Divert and Attitude Control System to steer the KW into the target.

June 17, For the second time this year, CG 70 successfully intercepted a ballistic target in space using the Navy's newest missile, the SM-3. On June 13 at 3:29 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time, Lake Erie launched the SM-3, tracked the missile throughout launch and recorded its intercept with the ballistic missile target. This event, designated as Flight Mission 3 (FM-3) was performed using no external sensors for mission execution and was conducted by the crew of Lake Erie. This mission was the third major ballistic missile event the ship has participated in this year. The second major event, Systems Integration Test II (SIT II) occurred in April and was conducted near the Marshall Islands.

July 5, U.S. Navy ships: USS Lake Erie, USS Lassen (DDG 82), USS O'Kane (DDG 77), USS Crommelin (FFG 37), USS Paul F. Foster (DD 964) and USS Tarawa (LHA 1) along with ships from Peru, Chile, Japan, Canada, Australia, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom are currently participating in Exercise “Rim of the Pacific” (RIMPAC) 2002, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), a biannual exercise held off the waters of Hawaii.

November 21, The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the U.S. Navy completed a successful flight test in the continuing development of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. Flight mission-4 (FM-4) involved the firing of a developmental Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) from the Aegis ballistic missile defense cruiser USS Lake Erie to engage a ballistic missile target launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The target was launched at 2:30 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time (7:30 p.m. EST).

December 11, 2003 USS Lake Erie successfully tracked, engaged and destroyed an Aries ballistic missile with an experimental Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) missile launched at sea within the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Kauai. System intercepted a target launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii at an approximate speed of 3.7 kilometers per second. The two missiles collided several hundred kilometers from Kauai at an altitude of approximately 137 kilometers. Upon impact, the kinetic force of the collision obliterated the threat. This was the fourth successful intercept for the sea-based element of the BMDS.

August 23, 2004 USS Lake Erie departed Naval Station Pearl Harbor for a scheduled deployment, in the 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AoR), after almost five years. The deployment will provide the ship and crew an opportunity to continue to hone the operational skills they exhibited during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2004, where Lake Erie worked closely with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) as part of the Bilateral Force.

December 18, USS Lake Erie returned to homeport after a four-month underway period in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

February 25, 2005 CG 70 returned to Pearl Harbor after participating in the latest Missile Defense Agency (MDA) test of the AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program and the Standard Missile 3 (SM-3). The latest program test was designed to evaluate the operationally configurated SM-3 and its ability to intercept and destroy short- to medium-range ballistic missiles. The target missile was shot from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. At 11:03 a.m. Feb. 24, one minute later, the Lake Erie launched the SM-3 from its patrol area located more than 100 miles from Kauai. The intercept was achieved about two minutes after the SM-3 was launched.

November 17, A SM-3 missile launched from the Lake Erie successfully intercepted a multi-stage target missile off the coast of Hawaii. This was the sixth successful intercept for the sea-based element of the BMDS.

March 8, 2006 USS Lake Erie launched a Standard Missile 3 (SM-3), during a Missile Defense Agency, and Japan Defense Agency cooperative flight test mission. The test entitled Joint Control Test Veichle-1 (JCTV-1), demonstrated the performance of the SM-3 missile modified with the Japan-designe advanced nosecone and AEGIS BMD Weapon System.

May 24, The U.S. Navy, in cooperation with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), successfully conducted a ballistic missile defense (BMD) demonstration involving the intercept of a target missile in the terminal phase (the last few seconds) of flight. The test involved an Aegis cruiser modified to detect, control and engage a ballistic missile target with a modified Standard Missile - 2 (SM-2) Block IV. CG 70 conducted the mission against a short-range target missile launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii. It was the first sea-based intercept of a ballistic missile in its terminal phase.

June 27, Capt. Randall M. Hendrickson relieved Capt. Joseph Horn, Jr. as CO of USS Lake Erie, during the ship's change of command ceremony.

April 26, 2007 At approximately 11:31 a.m. Hawaii Time, a short range ballistic missile target is launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands. Minutes later, a Standard Missile 3 Block IA, launched from USS Lake Erie, intercepted the target 100 miles above the ocean, 250 miles northwest of Kaua'i. At the same time, the guided-missile cruiser also launched SM-2 Block IIIA missile against a hostile air target, dropped from a Navy plane, in order to defend herself. This marked the eighth successful intercept in 10 flight tests for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program.

May 4, CG 70 departed Pearl Harbor for a scheduled deployment in the western Pacific.

May 21, The guided-missile cruiser pulled to Yokosuka, Japan, for a port visit.

July 1, The Lake Erie is currently off the coast of eastern Australia participating in exercise Talisman Sabre 2007.

September 4, USS Lake Erie returned to homeport after a four-month underway period. During the deployment, the cruiser also made port visits to Apra Harbor, Guam and Darwin, Australia.

November 6, At approximately 11:12 p.m. EST, a threat representative target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii. Moments later, a second, identical target was also launched from the PMRF. Two minutes later, USS Lake Erie launched two SM-3 missiles, and after two minutes they successfully intercepted the targets outside the earth's atmosphere more than 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean and 250 miles northwest of Kauai. This was the 32nd and 33rd successful "hit-to-kill" intercepts since 2001.

February 20, 2008 At approximately 10:26 p.m. EST, USS Lake Erie fired a single modified tactical Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), successsfully hitting a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite approximately 133 nautical miles over the Pacific Ocean as it traveled in space at more than 17,000 mph and was in its final orbits before entering the earth's atmosphere. There was an explosion on impact and more than 80 pieces of debris were detected after initial assessments.The objective was to rupture the fuel tank to dissipate the approximately 1,000 pounds of hydrazine, a hazardous fuel which could be harmful, before it entered into earth's atmosphere.

April 1, Capt. Ronald A. Boxall relieved Capt. Randall M. Hendrickson as commanding officer of USS Lake Erie, during a change of command ceremony at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

June 5, Two modified Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) Block IV interceptors are launched from CG 70 and intercepted a short-range ballistic missile target approximately 12 miles above the Pacific Ocean 100 miles west of Kauai, Hawaii on the Pacific Missile Range Facility. This was the second successful intercept in two attempts of the sea-based terminal capability and the fourteenth overall successful test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense Program.

October 10, The guided-missile cruiser arrived in Kona Bay outside Kailua-Kona in support of the 30th Ironman World Championship triathlon.

May 20, 2009 Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) recently completed a selected restricted availability (SRA), which included a ballistic missile defense (BMD) upgrade, on board the USS Lake Erie.

December 28, USS Lake Erie pulled to Hong Kong for a scheduled port visit. The ship recently departed Pearl Harbor for a western Pacific deployment.

January 28, 2010 CG 70 recently arrived in Fleet Activities Yokosuka for a port call.

February 1, The Lake Erie pulled to Sukumo City, Japan, for a goodwill port visit.

February 16, The guided-missile cruiser arrived in Sepangar, Malaysia, for a scheduled port visit.

March 1, USS Lake Erie arrived in Laem Chabang, Thaialnd, for a scheduled port call.

March 11, CG 70 pulled to Manila, Philippines, for a goodwill port call.

April 1, USS Lake Erie returned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam after a four-month underway period.

April 30, Capt. William C. Johnson relieved Capt. Ronald A. Boxall as CO of the Lake Erie during a change-of-command ceremony on board the ship at Pearl Harbor.

July 7, USS Lake Erie departed homeport to participate in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, off the coast of Hawaii.

May 3, 2011 The guided-missile cruiser is currently participating in exercise Trident Fury 11, designed to build a strong working relationship between the maritime and aviation forces of the U.S. and Canada, in the local waters of Victoria, B.C.

July 6, USS Lake Erie returned to Pearl Harbor after participating in the multi-national exercise Trident Fury and the joint exercise Northern Edge in the Gulf of Alaska.

September 1, The Lake Erie launched an SM-3 Block IB missile that failed to intercept the short-range ballistic missile, fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai, just before 4 a.m. local time. This was the first flight test of the advanced SM-3 Block 1B interceptor missile.

October 28, Capt. David Hughes relieved Capt. William C. Johnson as CO of the CG 70 during a change-of-command ceremony at the USS Nevada Memorial on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.