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With the Multinational Exercise RIMPAC 2024 approaching, it has been revealed that a retired USS Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship from the United States Navy (US Navy) will be destroyed as a target and sunk off the coast of Hawaii. It is important to note that this is the second ship of its class to be used for this purpose in two decades, and the first time in over a decade that any type of amphibious assault ship has been sunk in an exercise organized by the United States.
The mentioned ship, also known as USS Tarawa (LHA-1), was decommissioned in 2009 and is currently located on Ford Island, in the center of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Tarawa, the first of its class, entered service in the US Navy in 1976 and during the 1970s and 1980s conducted routine deployments in the Western Pacific and participated in peacekeeping operations in Lebanon in 1983. In 1990, as part of Operation Desert Shield, it transported troops to Saudi Arabia before the Gulf War and later participated in operations in Iraq following the US-led invasion in 2003. On its final operational mission, it supported military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In this regard, the US Navy will use the USS Tarawa as a target in a live-fire exercise as part of RIMPAC 2024, which will provide an opportunity to gather data on the effectiveness of weapons and the resilience of large warships, as the USS Tarawa has a displacement of nearly 40,000 tons. The sinking exercise, dubbed “SINKEX,” is the culminating event of the multinational activities.
As noted, this is not the first time a Tarawa-class ship has been used as a target in RIMPAC. The former USS Belleau Wood was sunk during the 2006 edition of the exercise. Five of the seven amphibious assault ships of the Iwo Jima class, which preceded the Tarawa class, were also used in other RIMPAC SINKEX events (the other two were scrapped). The former USS New Orleans was the last to be sent to the bottom of the Pacific in the 2010 edition.
With the Multinational Exercise RIMPAC 2024 approaching, it has been revealed that a retired USS Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship from the United States Navy (US Navy) will be destroyed as a target and sunk off the coast of Hawaii. It is important to note that this is the second ship of its class to be used for this purpose in two decades, and the first time in over a decade that any type of amphibious assault ship has been sunk in an exercise organized by the United States.
The mentioned ship, also known as USS Tarawa (LHA-1), was decommissioned in 2009 and is currently located on Ford Island, in the center of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Tarawa, the first of its class, entered service in the US Navy in 1976 and during the 1970s and 1980s conducted routine deployments in the Western Pacific and participated in peacekeeping operations in Lebanon in 1983. In 1990, as part of Operation Desert Shield, it transported troops to Saudi Arabia before the Gulf War and later participated in operations in Iraq following the US-led invasion in 2003. On its final operational mission, it supported military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In this regard, the US Navy will use the USS Tarawa as a target in a live-fire exercise as part of RIMPAC 2024, which will provide an opportunity to gather data on the effectiveness of weapons and the resilience of large warships, as the USS Tarawa has a displacement of nearly 40,000 tons. The sinking exercise, dubbed “SINKEX,” is the culminating event of the multinational activities.
As noted, this is not the first time a Tarawa-class ship has been used as a target in RIMPAC. The former USS Belleau Wood was sunk during the 2006 edition of the exercise. Five of the seven amphibious assault ships of the Iwo Jima class, which preceded the Tarawa class, were also used in other RIMPAC SINKEX events (the other two were scrapped). The former USS New Orleans was the last to be sent to the bottom of the Pacific in the 2010 edition.