NL WARSHIP F803

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Fregate involved in sinking of USS Tawara

The Zr.Ms. 'Tromp' was involved in sinking the amphibious assault ship USS 'Tawara' on July 19, 2024, near Hawaii with a missile attack. during the world's largest naval exercise Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac). The launch of the Harpoon rocket was the highlight of the training for the crew. It was a learning experience to apply all the procedures and use the ship's systems for their intended purpose. Medium-range Harpoon anti-ship missiles are fired from 8 angled launch tubes on the midship. It was the first time that a Dutch naval vessel was participating in Rimpac. The 'Tarawa' was one of the largest vessels that U.S. and partner forces have sunk in nearly two decades, a 3rd Fleet news release says. The last time a ship of its class was sunk as part of a military exercise was in 2006, when the former amphibious assault ship 'Belleau Wood' was sent to the bottom during that year’s RIMPAC. One of the munitions used to sink the 'Tarawa' was the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), which was fired from a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet. Sinking the 'Tarawa' also allowed the Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS 'Sydney' to test the Naval Strike Missile, which the Australians are buying to replace its Harpoon missiles. The 'Tarawa' was commissioned in 1976 and went on to take part in Operations Desert Shield and Iraq Freedom while also participating in cyclone relief efforts in Bangladesh. The ship was decommissioned in 2009. Ships and aircraft participating in the live-fire exercise also sank the decommissioned amphibious transport dock USS 'Dubuque' on July 11 as part of this year’s RIMPAC. Both ships were sunk in waters 15,000 feet deep more than 50 nautical miles off Kauai. So far this summer, the U.S. military has also sunk the former amphibious transport dock USS 'Cleveland' as part of Valiant Shield 2024, and a Marine AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter sank a towed target using an AGM-179 Air-to-Ground Missile, or JAGM. https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nmusn/explore/photography/ships-us/ships-usn-t/uss-tarawa-lha-1.html https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/dubuque--lpd-8--ii-1967-2011.html