Japanese torpedo sends US ship to the ocean floor during Valiant Shield exercise

Key Points:

• The decommissioned USS Juneau (LPD-10), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock ship, was sunk during the Valiant Shield exercise by a torpedo from a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine more than 200 nautical miles off the Mariana Islands.
• Valiant Shield is a biennial joint military exercise involving the U.S., Japan, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, designed to enhance proficiency in joint force operations across multiple domains including sea, air, space, land, and cyberspace.
• Rear Adm. Eric Anduze highlighted the sinking exercise (SINKEX) as a valuable opportunity to integrate capabilities and improve lethal precision and coordination for high-end maritime operations in the Pacific.
• USS Juneau, which served from 1969 through the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm before decommissioning in 2008, was used to provide realistic weapons system training that cannot be replicated in simulations.
• Prior to sinking, the vessel underwent thorough environmental remediation to remove hazardous materials such as PCBs, petroleum, and mercury, with oversight by Navy environmental and safety personnel to ensure compliance.