The USS Klakring makes a port visit to Greece in November 2012. The Klakring, decommissioned since 2013, is scheduled to be sunk in a SINKEX exercise near Scotland later this year. (US Navy/Paul Farley)

It’s Official: The US Navy and Royal Navy Will Sink a Ship Together Next Month

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The USS Klakring, a former US Navy frigate decommissioned in 2013, is slated for the chopping block—though some have wondered why the UK is not providing the ship instead.

During the September 2022 “Atlantic Thunder” joint naval exercise, the UK’s Royal Navy and the United States Navy carried out a multi-domain sinking exercise, or SINKEX. The former Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate USS Boone (FFG-28), decommissioned in 2012, was sent to the bottom of the Atlantic in a live-fire drill.

It was nearly a year ago that the two sea services announced plans for another SINKEX, which was originally planned to be held during the Atlantic Thunder 26 exercises this past May. The exercises were delayed at the time, and subsequently rescheduled for the upcoming September. However, the venue has not changed: the SINKEX will still take place in the waters off the QinetiQ Hebrides range in north-west Scotland, with another Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate as the “star” attraction. The former USS Klakring (FFG-42) has been confirmed as the retired........

© The National Interest