The decommissioned US Navy frigate USS Klakring has been sunk in Scottish waters during a joint UK-US military exercise. The vessel was struck by a missile launched from the USS Paul Ignatius, with Royal Navy vessels and aircraft also involved in the operation at the MOD's Hebrides Range.
Live-fire exercise in the North Atlantic
UK and US forces have been conducting live-fire exercises in the North Atlantic off the coast of the Western Isles this month. The operation, known as Atlantic Thunder 2026, included a joint exercise targeting the USS Klakring, a decommissioned warship.
Footage published by the US Navy's Sixth Fleet shows the moment the frigate was hit by a missile. After the launch from the USS Paul Ignatius, explosions can be seen onboard the USS Klakring as smoke and flames erupt from the vessel while it is destroyed.
Delayed operation and vessel history
The operation was originally planned for May, with the sinking of USS Klakring by co-ordination between British and American forces as the centrepiece, but it was delayed by four months.
Launched in 1982, the USS Klakring was an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate named after World War II Rear Admiral Thomas B. Klakring. It was decommissioned in 2013 after three decades in active service and had been stored at the Philadelphia Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Pennsylvania before being brought to Campbeltown ahead of the exercise. All hazardous materials had been removed from the vessel before it was sent to the bottom of the ocean.
Previous sinking in the region
This is not the first time a former US warship has been sunk during training exercises between UK and US forces off the coast of Scotland. A previous Atlantic Thunder operation took place in September 2022, in which HMS Westminster, a Wildcat helicopter and three RAF Typhoons sank the decommissioned frigate USS Boone alongside the US Navy and the US Air Force.
