Overview
- The joint SINKEX ended with the decommissioned frigate USS Klakring sunk by sequential live fires, including an SM‑6 from USS Paul Ignatius, a Naval Strike Missile from HMS Portland, Sea Venom from a Wildcat, air‑dropped munitions and a final Mk 48 torpedo from USS Massachusetts on 21 September 2026.
- Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific fitted sensors across the hull before the firing so embedded instrumentation could record impacts for months‑long battle damage assessment.
- Exercise leaders said the serial ran from the longest‑range weapons inward to capture each weapon’s effects and to test US‑UK command, communications and shared kill‑chain procedures.
- Commanders confirmed that no uncrewed underwater or seabed systems took part in the SINKEX despite earlier UK planning that had scoped those capabilities.
- Organizers said planning for a follow‑on Atlantic Thunder in 2028 has already begun and that processed sensor data will shape future munitions, tactics and force integration, with environmental safeguards applied during the operation.