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Japanese torpedo sends US ship to the ocean floor during Valiant Shield exercise
Defense News • • world
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 over 200 nautical miles off the Mariana Islands.
- Valiant Shield, a biennial joint military exercise involving the U.S., Japan, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, aims to enhance real-world proficiency in integrated maritime, air, space, land, and cyber operations.
- The USS Juneau, commissioned in 1969 and decommissioned in 2008, served in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm before being used as a live-fire training target to improve weapons systems proficiency.
- Prior to sinking, the vessel underwent a thorough environmental cleaning process to remove hazardous materials such as PCBs, mercury, and petroleum, with oversight from Navy environmental and safety personnel to ensure compliance.
