WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • USS Klakring was sunk Sept. 25 during the American and British Exercise Atlantic Thunder 2026 in the North Atlantic.
  • USS Massachusetts delivered the final strike with a Mk 48 Advanced Capability Torpedo.
  • Multiple U.S. task forces, the Royal Navy and the U.S. Air Force participated in the sinking exercise.
  • USS Paul Ignatius and the Royal Navy demonstrated several missile capabilities against the decommissioned frigate.

A decommissioned U.S. guided missile frigate went to the bottom of the Atlantic on Sept. 25 during a joint American and British naval sinking exercise, the U.S. Navy recently announced. Exercise Atlantic Thunder 2026 was led by the U.S. 6th Fleet in the North Atlantic.

The SINKEX brought together the firepower of U.S. Task Force 65, Task Force 67, Task Force 68, Task Force 69 and Task Force 1060. The Royal Navy and U.S. Air Force also participated in the combined exercise.

The target was USS Klakring, an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate that had been laid up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since leaving service. The ship was decommissioned on March 22, 2013, after nearly three decades in the sea service.

USS Klakring entered service on Aug. 20, 1983. The frigate was named for Rear Adm. Thomas B. Klakring, who received three Navy Crosses while commanding the submarine USS Guardfish during World War II.

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During its operational years, USS Klakring supported Operation Earnest Will. That mission protected Kuwaiti oil tankers from Iranian attacks during the Iran-Iraq War, placing the frigate in the middle of a dangerous maritime security operation.

The ship’s final role came as the designated target for Atlantic Thunder 2026. American and British forces used the decommissioned frigate to demonstrate the weapons, reach and combined capabilities available across their naval forces.

The final strike against USS Klakring came from the newly commissioned submarine USS Massachusetts. The Block IV Virginia-class fast attack boat, which uses nuclear power, successfully hit and sank the former frigate with a Mk 48 Advanced Capability Torpedo.

That torpedo attack completed the sinking on Sept. 25. The strike also put USS Massachusetts at the center of the exercise’s final act as the retired frigate disappeared beneath the Atlantic.

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USS Klakring Sent to Atlantic Grave in Joint American and British SINKEX
Image Credit: DoW
The USS Klakring makes a port visit to Greece in November 2012. The Klakring, decommissioned since 2013, is scheduled to be sunk in a SINKEX exercise near Scotland later this year. (US Navy/Paul Farley)

“Atlantic Thunder demonstrates the unmatched lethality and interoperability of the United States and United Kingdom,” Capt. Kelechi Ndukwe, commander of U.S. Task Force 65, said in a release. “This sinking exercise not only validated the power behind U.S.-UK offensive weapons but delivers a clear message to adversaries that the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy remain a ready allied force.”

The exercise involved more than the submarine attack that ultimately sent USS Klakring down. It also featured weapons employed by American and British surface forces, giving both fleets an opportunity to highlight their capabilities against the same decommissioned target.

The guided missile destroyer USS Paul Ignatius successfully demonstrated the maximum damage and range capability of an anti-surface variant of the Standard Missile 6, also identified as SM 6. The destroyer was among the American forces involved in striking the former frigate.

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The Royal Navy used its newest missiles designed to destroy ships during the exercise. Those weapons included the Naval Strike Missile and Sea Venom, according to the Navy release describing Atlantic Thunder 2026.

Atlantic Thunder 2026 followed another significant American and British naval event by only a few days. The Royal Navy successfully launched a U.S. Navy Mk 48 Heavyweight Torpedo from a British Excalibur uncrewed underwater vehicle.

That launch marked a significant step toward allied operational fleets of uncrewed vehicles. Combined with the later sinking exercise, it placed both crewed and uncrewed capabilities on display during a closely timed series of allied activities.

USS Klakring’s last mission therefore brought together aircraft, submarines, surface ships and multiple American task forces alongside the Royal Navy. The exercise ended with the Mk 48 strike from USS Massachusetts sending the veteran frigate beneath the North Atlantic.

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