Like it’s no one’s business…
Large Scale Exercise (LSE) is a global triennial exercise conducted by the U.S Fleet Forces Command to synchronize the maritime operations across multiple fleets. This year, the LSE was conducted from 3rd August till 15th August 2021, and included 25,000 sailors and Marines and more than 25 ships. The LSE 21 was designed to test a new naval operating system, Distributed Maritime Operations, enabling fleet commanders to control carrier groups as well as individual ships across different areas.
The LSE 21 includes a sinking exercise which is known as SINKEX. In this, a retired ship is towed out to sea and then bombarded with firepower until it can’t take the damage anymore. A new video from the event was uploaded which shows the massive firepower of the U.S Navy and Marines that literally snapped a warship in two. The retired USS Ingraham was blasted from all directions even underwater which resulted in the ship breaking down into two parts. This gives the Navy a platform to test the power of their weapons from the moment the rocket motors start up to the moment the high explosive tears through the target ship.
The SINKEX shows the progress of the U.S Navy from the days of the Cold War when it was labeled as an undisputed naval power. But after the rise of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy and Russian Navy, the U.S Navy fell short on its anti-ship capabilities and recently starting coming back to the ship-striking business.
The video shows a montage of different air and ship launched-missiles striking the Ingraham. One of the most remarkable moments is the ship’s keel snapped in half which is caused by the Mk. 48 Advanced Capability torpedo (ADCAP) launched from the USS Chicago. As explained by Gloablsecurity.org, “When a warhead is detonated at close range beneath a ship, the steam void initially lifts the ship upwards from the middle. This tends to weaken the ship’s keel. After the steam void has reached its maximum volume the surrounding water pressure will collapse it. The ship then falls into the void, still supported on its ends. The keel will then break under the ship’s own weight.” Poor Ingraham stood no chance and was destined to sink that day at her final resting place.
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