A US warship has been sunk by bomb and missile hits.
USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60) was sunk around 50 miles off Hawaii’s coast on Saturday (16 July) during a military exercise.
The US Navy has released footage of the drill, during which US, Canadian, Australian and Malaysian forces fired at the warship, which eventually sank into 15,000 feet of water.
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Watch the footage below:
The frigate was named after Marine Sergeant Rodney Maxwell Davis, who was awarded the Medal of Honour posthumously for his heroism in the Vietnam War.
Commissioned back in 1987, the ship spent most of its 30-year career in the Pacific and was the second to last Oliver Hazard Perry class ship to ever be built.
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Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates are a class of guided-missile war ships that were named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who is considered the hero of 1813’s Battle of Lake Erie.
Rodney M. Davis was decommissioned in 2015 and according to The Drive was almost donated to Ukraine in 2018.
On Saturday, Rim of the Pacific - the world's largest international maritime exercise - posted footage of anti-ship missiles being launched from Royal Canadian, US and Royal Malaysian Navy ships at Rodney M. Davis.
The sinking exercise helps the military gain proficiency in tactics such as targeting a surface at sea and live firing.
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Adm. Mohd Reza Mohd Sany, Chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy, said: “The SINKEX was a professionally enriching experience for the crew of KD Lekir.
“These events provide an excellent platform toward enhancing interoperability amongst the participating navies.”
Live-fire exercises like the one carried out on Saturday provide realistic training for the Navy, as Royal Canadian Navy Rear Adm. Christopher Robinson explained.
Robinson said: “This exercise provided a great opportunity for the extremely talented sailors, soldiers, and aviators who comprise the RIMPAC 2022 team to hone their skills in a live-fire setting.”
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He continued: “There is nothing that really replaces the training value of opportunities such as this, which enable us to test our weapons and their associated combat systems with as much realism as possible.
“These live fire exercises are vital for maintaining our proficiencies, building our interoperability, and increasing our readiness for future operations.”
Royal Australian Navy Commodore Paul O’Grady added: “The coordinated firing of anti-ship munitions is a complex activity. This SINKEX demonstrates the interchangeability of the capable and adaptive RIMPAC partners.
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“In doing so, significant measures were taken to protect the maritime training environment.”
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Topics: US News, World News