US, partner forces sink two retired Navy ships at RIMPAC

When the U.S. military partners with other nations for large-scale training exercises, it likes to give everyone a big target to blow up and sink. This month, U.S. forces and partner militaries got to sink not one but two decommissioned Navy ships.

As part of the ongoing Rim of the Pacific multi-national exercise, American and allied militaries unloaded missiles and other weapons on the USS Peleliu and USS Mobile Bay on July 11 and 17, respectively. It was part of a sinking exercise, or SINKEX.

Video released by the Navy’s 3rd Fleet show the ships being hit above and below the waterline, with fire and water bursting up from the direct strikes.

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The operation featured units from the United States Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Italy and Japan, with several helicopter units firing missiles into the decommissioned vessels.

Both ships were taken out more than 50 nautical miles away from the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The U.S. contingent included units from the Army, Navy and Air Force, with AH-64 Apache helicopters blasting the USS Mobile Bay with Spike Non-Line of Sight missiles.

The Navy meanwhile used multiple one-way attack surface drones to hit the Peleliu. These kinds of maritime attack drones have been used extensively by Ukraine in its ongoing war, and the U.S. recently used them for the first time in combat this month against Iran.

The SINKEX let the participating units gain “proficiency in tactics, targeting and live-firing against a surface ship at sea,” the 3rd Fleet said in a statement.

“SINKEXs are a prime example of the strength and readiness our partnerships create,” Vice Adm. Jeff Jablon, the RIMPAC 2026 Commander, Combined Task Force, said.

The USS Peleliu, named for the battle that saw fierce fighting during World War II, was a Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship that entered service in 1980. It saw several deployments, including to Somalia in the 1990s and transporting troops to Afghanistan. It also supported the war effort in Iraq, before being decommissioned in 2015.

The USS Mobile Bay meanwhile was a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser that was in service from 1987-2023. It deployed to the Pacific multiple times to help with humanitarian and peacekeeping missions, and supported the war in Iraq. It took part in the 2022 edition of RIMPAC before its decommissioning.

It’s the second time a Ticonderoga-class cruiser was sunk in an exercise, a Navy official told Task & Purpose. The USS Valley Force, which was decommissioned in 2004, was used as a target in 2006.

The two SINKEX events this month come only a few weeks after the United States and partner forces sank the decommissioned Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Juneau during the Valiant Shield exercise.

Beyond just being a chance for troops to fire on a major target outside of combat situations, SINKEX events are often a chance for units to train with and test new equipment and ordnance. During the SINKEX with the Juneau, a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber fired a AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (or LRASM), the first time the Air Force announced the bomber could carry that munition.

This year’s edition of RIMPAC involves more than 30,000 personnel from 30 nations. It wraps on July 31.

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