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World

US Navy frigate USS Klakring sunk by missile off Scotland in joint UK-US exercise

The decommissioned US frigate USS Klakring was sunk in Scottish waters during the joint UK-US Atlantic Thunder 2026 live-fire exercise, struck by a missile from the USS Paul Ignatius.

By Sarah Whitfield · · 2 min read

The guided missile frigate USS Klakring (FFG-42) at sea
U.S. Navy photo by Paul Farley / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

The decommissioned US Navy frigate USS Klakring has been sunk in Scottish waters during the joint UK-US military exercise Atlantic Thunder 2026, struck by a missile launched from the USS Paul Ignatius. Royal Navy vessels and aircraft also took part in the operation at the Ministry of Defence’s Hebrides Range, and footage published by the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet shows the moment the frigate was hit, with explosions and smoke erupting from the vessel. (Brit Brief)

The exercise was originally planned for May but delayed by four months. The Klakring, a 138-metre Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate launched in 1982 and named after Second World War Rear Admiral Thomas B. Klakring, was decommissioned in 2013 after three decades of service and had been stored at the Philadelphia Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility before being brought to Campbeltown. All hazardous materials were removed from the vessel before it was sent to the bottom of the ocean. (Brit Brief; Hebrides News)

Labelled a “sinkex” — a sink-at-sea live-fire training exercise — the aim is to assess new tactics and give crews real-world experience of long-range missile strikes at sea. Unmanned submersible drones will be sent to the seabed to inspect the damage. Under US environmental rules the sinking took place at least 50 nautical miles from land in water nearly 1,900 metres deep. (Hebrides News)

It is not the first such sinking off Scotland: a previous Atlantic Thunder operation in September 2022 saw the decommissioned frigate USS Boone sunk by HMS Westminster, a Wildcat helicopter and three RAF Typhoons alongside US forces. (Brit Brief)

Sources

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