Photos show the final cruise of the USS Leyte Gulf as the US Navy phases out its cruiser fleet

Starboard view of the cruiser USS Leyte Gulf.Lisa Marcus/Courtesy of the US Navy/Getty Images

• USS Leyte Gulf returned home after its last deployment, concluding nearly four decades of service.
• The guided-missile cruiser patrolled the South Atlantic to counter drug trafficking in the region.

USS Leyte Gulf completed its final deployment earlier this month, concluding nearly four decades of service.

The guided-missile cruiser returned to its homeport in Norfolk, Virginia, on May 17 after three-and-a-half months in the South Atlantic on security operations and counter drug trafficking in the region.

Photos of the Leyte Gulf's final deployment captured its port visits to Cuba and Brazil, its debut in the inaugural Fleet Week Miami, and the massive drug busts by the ship's crew.