AC-130 Gunship Guns Down, Sub's Torpedo Finishes: USS Mobile Bay Sunk at RIMPAC 2026 SINKEX

On July 11, 2026, an AC-130J Ghostrider crew from the 919th Special Operations Wing opened fire on the decommissioned Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) during a live-fire sinking exercise (SINKEX) at RIMPAC 2026. The next day, July 12, the Royal Canadian Navy's Victoria-class submarine HMCS Corner Brook delivered the decisive blow, firing a Mk 48 Mod 7AT heavyweight torpedo that sent the cruiser to the bottom of the Pacific, more than 50 nautical miles off the northern coast of Kauai, Hawaii, in waters roughly 15,000 feet deep. The Mobile Bay SINKEX was one of the marquee events of RIMPAC 2026, the world's largest international maritime exercise, bringing together 31 nations, 36 surface ships, five submarines, and more than 25,000 personnel. Multinational coalition forces engaged the target with a mix of weapons systems before the final torpedo strike, including M142 HIMARS rockets from the Kentucky Army National Guard, Type 12 anti-ship missiles fired by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, AGM-158C LRASMs from U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets, and Spike NLOS missiles from Army AH-64 Apaches. For HMCS Corner Brook, the strike marked a major milestone: the submarine's return to full operational service after a 14-year period away from the normal operational cycle, and the first participation of a Canadian submarine in RIMPAC since 2014. USS Mobile Bay, a Ticonderoga-class cruiser commissioned in 1987, served for more than 36 years — including deployments during Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Iraqi Freedom — before being decommissioned in 2023. Click here to Subscribe USA Military Channel: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_... The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.