Earlier this month, the US joint forces took to the Hawaiian Islands Operating Area to conduct a sinking exercise (SINKEX) consisting of coordinated multi-domain, multi-axis, long-range maritime strikes on ex-USS Ingraham.
The SINKEX, which took place on August 15, came as part of the US military's Large Scale Exercise (LSE) 2021. The war games took place from August 3 to August 16, and were held to gauge the US' ability to counter Russian and Chinese forces simultaneously in either European or Pacific theaters.
The joint forces' various missiles were seen pummeling the decommissioned frigate toward the end of a video jointly released by the US Navy and US Marine Corps. During the first half of the footage, the USS Carl Vinson launched a number of F-35C Joint Strike Fighters that employed laser-guided weapons, and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft was able to test its Harpoon weapon system.
The SINKEX required the target to sink at least 1,000 fathoms (6,000 feet, 1829 meters) of water, and the exercise was prohibited from being performed within 50 nautical miles (58 miles, 93 kilometers) from land.
The long-range maritime strike capabilities displayed in the video are already in use by US forces, or are presently being fielded.
Participants in the joint, live-fire exercise included units from Vinson Carrier Strike Group (VINCSG), Submarine Forces Pacific, 1 Marine Expeditionary Force/3rd Marine Air Wing, III Marine Expeditionary/3rd Marine Division, and U.S. Army Multi-Domain Task Force.
The event came as the second time a decommissioned USS Ingraham was used in a SINKEX. The other ex-USS Ingraham (DD-694), commissioned from 1944 to 1971, was sold to the Hellenic Navy and renamed Miaoulis before it was used in a 2001 SINKEX.
"Lethal combat power was effectively applied to a variety of maritime threats over the last two weeks in a simulated environment as part of the Navy’s Large Scale Exercise and expertly demonstrated Sunday with live ordnance," said US 3rd Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Steve Koehler in a quoted statement.
"The precise and coordinated strikes from the Navy and our Joint teammates resulted in the rapid destruction and sinking of the target ship and exemplify our ability to decisively apply force in the maritime battlespace."