2026 RIMPAC Exercise Completes Live-Fire Sinking Drill

According to Voice of America, the 2026 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise completed a live-fire sink exercise (SINKEX) in the waters near Hawaii, with multi-national forces participating from Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, and the United States. During the exercise, HIMARS, Harpoon missiles, Type 12 anti-ship missiles, and Spike missiles fired from Apache helicopters were used to sink the retired US Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay and the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu. US media noted that this exercise introduced more combat capabilities targeting China.

Video link:

Full text:

Amid massive explosions, the retired US Navy cruiser USS Mobile Bay and amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu slowly sank into the deep ocean about 50 nautical miles north of Kauai, Hawaii, at a depth of about 4,500 meters. This was the highlight of the 2026 Rim of the Pacific exercise: the live-fire integration drill.

According to a press release published on the official US Navy website on July 23, these two integration drills took place on July 12 and 17 respectively, involving naval, air, and land forces from Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, and the United States. US Navy Vice Admiral and Commander of the 2026 RIMPAC Combined Task Force, Jeff Jablon, stated that the integration drills fully demonstrated the formidable strength and combat readiness brought by allied partnerships.

The weapons used in this integration drill included HIMARS long-range anti-ship missiles, ship-launched and submarine-launched Harpoon missiles, and Japan's domestically produced Type 12 anti-ship missiles. Two AH-64 Apache attack helicopters from the US Army's 7th Infantry Division also participated in the live-fire integration drill, firing Spike missiles at the two warships.

USNI News stated that the US side introduced more technologies and combat capabilities aimed at countering China in this multi-national naval exercise, with US military services utilizing the RIMPAC platform to showcase new maritime strike systems for the first time in a joint multi-service combat environment.

The USS Mobile Bay was a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser with a displacement of 9,800 tons, commissioned on February 21, 1987, at the Alabama Shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. The ship supported Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and was decommissioned in August 2023 after serving for over 36 years.

The USS Peleliu was a Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship commissioned on May 3, 1980, with a displacement of nearly 40,000 tons. Resembling a small aircraft carrier in appearance, it possessed a powerful flight deck capable of launching and recovering various types of aircraft, and executed combat and humanitarian missions across half the world's oceans. The USS Peleliu completed a total of 17 deployments during its service, during which it supported Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and was decommissioned in March 2015.