WASHINGTON — The US Navy and the UK’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force used the decommissioned frigate Klakring as a target this month to evaluate the SM-6 missile and other weapons during a North Atlantic sinking exercise. The SM-6 missile trials formed a key part of the live-fire event, officials said.
The sinking exercise, known as SINKEX, took place during Exercise Atlantic Thunder 2026 in the North Atlantic, according to the Navy. The drill aimed to sharpen long-range surface strike proficiency at sea and strengthen US-UK interoperability for maritime sinking operations.
“Atlantic Thunder demonstrates the unmatched lethality and interoperability of the United States and United Kingdom,” Capt. Kelechi Ndukwe, commander of US 6th Fleet’s Task Force 65, said in a statement. He said the event validated allied offensive weapons and signaled readiness to potential adversaries.
Ndukwe said that during the Sept. 14-25 exercise the destroyer USS Paul Ignatius fired an SM-6 missile. “We were testing the surface-to-surface engagement ability at the furthest range that we could,” he told reporters, adding that the team was focused on range performance.
Ndukwe declined to provide the specific range achieved in the SM-6 trials during a media roundtable. A public assessment by the Center for Strategic and International Studies lists the missile’s range at nearly 230 miles.
The Royal Navy also launched a Sea Venom missile from a Wildcat helicopter and employed the Naval Strike Missile during the event, Ndukwe confirmed.
The final strike that sent Klakring to the bottom came from an Mk 48 Advanced Capability Torpedo fired by the Virginia-class submarine Massachusetts.
Before the shoot, Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific outfitted Klakring with sensors to capture data from impacts and damage. Ndukwe said the information will inform future weapons design and help “push the envelope” on capabilities.
“We started with the longest-range ordnance, which is why we were going with SM-6 first, and then moved into shorter range,” Ndukwe said. He noted the embedded sensors will support detailed analysis of strike effects over the coming months as data is processed.
Additional participating US and UK units included the Royal Navy frigate HMS Portland, US Navy and Royal Air Force P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, and US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles, among others.
“The biggest takeaway for us here was we were really proud of the ability to communicate throughout the entirety of the exercise,” Ndukwe said. “The shared battle damage assessment will ensure that the Navy and our navies will continue to be capable and lethal fighting forces.”
SM-6 missile featured in long-range surface strikes
The SM-6 missile engagement was designed to probe the outer limits of surface-to-surface performance as part of the layered sequence of fires that culminated in the Mk 48 torpedo strike. Officials said the combined data set from multiple weapon types and platforms will support allied tactics development and cross-service integration.
Additional US Navy investments in modernization, such as those highlighted in Navy shipyard overhaul could top $200 billion, GAO says, are expected to shape future exercises and live-fire events of this kind.