laststandonzombieisland

To cap RIMPAC 26, two large SINKEXs took place, targeting the long decommissioned Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship ex-USS Peleliu (LHA-5) and the more recently laid up Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser ex-USS Mobile Bay (CG 53).

The event took place in deep water (+6,000 feet) north of Hawaii to keep the broken wrecks safe from unwelcome eyes.

Of course, Big Navy did what Big Navy is well-known for, deep-sixing ships De Soto style that some on Capitol Hill would like to see returned to service. Peleliu, the last of her class, had been laid up since 2015 but drew interest as a short-term replacement for Bon Homme Richard for a few years until a new ‘phib could be completed. Likewise, cruiser fans hate to see every Tico get a hard goodbye, especially if they still “look” so good.

I mean, look at Mobile Bay when she was decommissioned just under three years ago:

If they are at the bottom of the Pacific, the NDAA can’t authorize millions to reactivate elderly vessels– so that the money can be spent on shiny new ones.

Plus, obtaining valid weapons testing evaluations on a big deck LHA– from a class that the Navy’s current LHAs and LHDs are based upon– is worthwhile.

Peleliu had already been towed out to sea from her retirement home in the West Loch earlier this year to simulate battle damage in various spaces and then towed back to Ford Island as part of an extensive Repair Technology Exercise (REPTX) which brought together various technologies for inspection, repair, and/or prevention of damage.

Shore-based rocket batteries (M142 HIMARS of the Kentucky National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 623rd Field Artillery, and Type 12 anti-ship missiles from the Japanese Army’s 8th Surface-to-Surface Missile Regiment) got their real-world tasking and showed the continued promise of mobile sea control from the shore.

In the end, Peleliu was finished off by Harpoon missiles launched by the Spanish frigate Álvaro de Bazan (F 101) and the Japanese destroyer JS Kongo (DDG 173), emulating the use of air-launched Harpoons by an RNZAF P-8 Poseidon to sink the ex-USS Juneau last month in Valiant Spear.

Perhaps the Navy is eager to assuage allies that their 1970s-designed anti-ship missiles can still, you know, anti-ship.

Although, to be fair, HMAS Sydney did get a chance to test out one of the RAN’s new Naval Strike Missiles.

Getting Spiked

Of note, among those who got in licks were a flight of AH-64D Longbow Apaches from the Fort Lewis-based 16th Combat Aviation Brigade of the 7th Infantry (Hourglass) Division, which carried Israeli-made Spike NLOS missiles. The 75-pound fire-and-forget missile has a 20+ mile range and a 28-pound warhead while only costing about $250K. In effect, a sort of super Hellfire.

Said Army Apaches flew from USS Essex (LHD-2) alongside Marine Cobras (Vipers) and Hueys (Venoms).

The Spikes were joined by Penguins fired from an RNZN SH-2G SeaSprite (they do exist!) from the Anzac-class frigate HMNZS Te Mana (F 111), a Marte from an Italian SH-101 flying from the frigate Giovanni Delle Bande Nere (P 434), and Hellfires from a pair of RAN MH-60Rs flying from both Sydney and cross-decked from USS Wayne G. Meyer (DDG 108).

So long, Tarawas

In the end, let’s pour out one for the Tarawas, which were first ordered 1 May 1969, amid the worst part of the Vietnam War. Peleliu’s sinking closes the book on the class, spanning a 57-year run.

They held the line in the Cold War and multiple evolutions of the Sandbox, combining big Harrier and Super Stallion capable air decks with large LCAC and LCU capable well decks and room for 1,700 embarked Marines. Nothing else came close before the class.

Of the five members, USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3) was the first disposed of, sunk in 2006, followed by Saipan (LHA 2), which was scrapped in 2009, Nassau (scrapped in 2021), and Tarawa herself, which was sent to the bottom in RIMPAC 24.