The sinking of the USS Juneau was part of the US and its allies and partners' larger exercise on testing weapons and training together.
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anthony Vilardi
Over 80 years ago, a Japanese submarine attacked and sank the US Navy ship USS Juneau. Now, a Japanese torpedo sent another American vessel bearing that same name to the ocean floor, but under very different circumstances.During a recent exercise, the US and its Pacific allies and partners conducted a live-fire sinking of the decommissioned Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Juneau. The Navy said that the live-fire sinking was part of a larger effort to practice coordinated warfighting with American allies and partners across air, sea, land, space, and cyber.The recent live-fire event, called a SINKEX, was part of Valiant Shield 2026, a large-scale exercise that brought the US, Japan, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand together to test weapons and train together in a more realistic environment.A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine struck the decommissioned USS Juneau with a torpedo. Before the exercise, crews removed hazardous materials and pollutants from the ship. Officials also surveyed the sinking site, which was more than 200 nautical miles offshore in the Mariana Islands Range Complex.USS Juneau (LPD-10) entered service in 1969 and participated in the Vietnam War and operations in the Middle East, transporting troops into combat. The Navy decommissioned the ship in 2008. Named after the capital of Alaska, the vessel was an amphibious warfare ship designed to move forces to land in conflicts.
