U.S. Submarine Sinks Iranian Warship in Indian Ocean
Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth: This is “the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two.”
A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship operating in the Indian Ocean, threatening to sneak in on American carrier strike groups in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, “said a torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean Tuesday night,” the Associated Press reported.
“In the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Secretary Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo—Quiet Death.”
This Iranian warship thought it was safe in international waters. It wasn't.
The @DeptofWar is fighting to win. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4bGMubuSQu
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 4, 2026
According to the BBC, the Sri Lankan officials “identified the warship as the frigate IRIS Dena.” The weekly India Today identified the Iranian warship as “Moudge-class frigate” sailing “about 40 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s coast” when it was torpedoed.
The Operation Epic Fury continues to make military history. This is the first time since the Second World War that a torpedo has sunk a warship, Secretary Hegseth confirmed.
.@SECWAR “In the Indian Ocean—an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship, that thought it was safe in international waters.
Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo—Quiet Death.
The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War 2. Like in that war—back when we were… pic.twitter.com/Y97YQBxQza
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 4, 2026
The CNBC News reports:
A U.S. submarine fired a torpedo that sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
“Quiet death,” Hegseth boasted of the attack, which he said was the “first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two.”
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the sub used a “single Mark 48 torpedo to achieve immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea.”
The U.S. has “effectively neutralized, at this point in time, Iran’s major naval presence in theater out there.”
Earlier today, the Israeli media reported that one of their F-35i had shot down a Russian-made Iranian fighter jet in a dog fight over the skies of Tehran. “The engagement marked the first time in history that a crewed fighter jet was shot down by an F-35 in operational combat,” the newspaper Israel Hayom reported.
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Comments
Didn’t the Brits use a torpedo in the Falklands?
Yes
They sank the General Belgrano, the former USS Phoenix.
The crew caught some flack for flying the skull and cross bones to signify a kill when they returned home too 😂
Hegseth should have said “… first sinking of an enemy ship by a US torpedo…”.
Yes, Democrats are gonna demand his removal because of this! 😂
He said it was the first such sinking of an “enemy ship”. That’s the key word that makes it true. “Enemy” in this context means our enemy, not someone else’s. In the Falklands War the USA was neutral, so Argentina was not a USA enemy.
I spent a few months in Argentina a few years later. Some people acted as if the U.S. had been an enemy. Of course, sympathy toward an ally is not the same as participating but some people don’t see shades of grey.
The South Korean ship Cheonan was also lost to a sub
Again, not an enemy ship.
The Elizabeth Warren Ocean? 😄😁😆🤣
Things that make you go BOOM
fire
ugh… didnt mean this as a reply. this comment platform suks
The Tech Support Ocean
The C-Store Ocean
The H1B Ocean
“The Other-Other One”
Of the world’s oceans, it is the one I forget about the most.
Dot, not feather.
And I was just reading last night how this was all a mystery and the Sri Lankan gov’t said “No, no submarine that we know of” while “sources” said “Yep, it was a submarine.”
Glad to know it was us. If Hegseth hadn’t announced it, this crew was going to have to spend their lives keeping their mouths shut.
Bravo Zulu, crew of the unnamed attack sub!
Good hunting! I can only imagine the envy within the service for having had the opportunity to make the shot.
I think the military let this out so our enemies can see and worry about our Navy submarines even more.
And the video of the hit. BOOM! and the entire rear section of the hull lifts right out of the water so you can SEE the keel is broken. That has to be a very satisfactory result for the sub crew. It warms the cockles of my heart.
The bow is pushed into the sea then lifts above previous waterline as flooding starts. i would have “preferred” amidships strike… picky picky.
“The torpedo is designed to detonate under the keel of a surface ship, breaking the keel and destroying its structural integrity.”…worked…like…a….charm.
Anyone further interested may find the YouTube video “Who Sank Fastest? – Capital Ship Losses of WW2” (Drachinifel) as good side piece. Great YouTube channel by the way.
Drachinifel is a good channel if you like vids about WW2 ships and before.
OK _ I am late to this thread (I have been out of town in the ‘net boondocks)
A slow motion review indicates the target has a significant fire amidships BEFORE the single Mk48 hit. Or is that just a visual anomaly?
Waiting for the usual suspects to bleat “war crimes!”. “Why didn’t they warn them before firing the torpedo?” “Why didn’t they rescue the survivors?”
That video absolutely demonstrates that a modern torpedo is nothing to fool with. One shot. One kill. I’m going to bet that what is left of the Iranian Navy isn’t leaving the dock.
And give them hot cocoa and oatmeal?
I guess they finally used up all those surplus Mark 14s?
Do they even carry any torpedoes other than the mk48?
What amazes me is that with nothing to hide behin, other than water, that there is a place for subs in modern warfare!!
They did rescue the survivors. No word on the cocoa or the oatmeal.
About a third of the crew was rescued by another ship.
The iranian frigate was part of an India exercise. We sent a P-8 oddly enough to participate.
The ship was sunk after the exercise was over. We of course new exactly where it was. The captain of the ship should have headed into the closest port and been interned for the duration of the war. He didn’t and his ship and crew suffered from his poor decision.
My son said that his mother was already ranting about that. No warning, and then not surfacing to take on prisoners. Crazy people think that a sub has room. Its own crew has to share bunks.
Captain Nault must be green with envy! That sub captain just earned himself a medal and a good chance to make flag rank. Well done.
“Captain Nault must be green with envy!”
He’s not a sicko like you guys. He’s probably relieved that he didn’t have to be the one who killed those 80 sailors.
Cry harder, Lord Haw-Haw.
I hear the Iranians are looking for a new Supreme Leader.
Maybe you should sign up.
I hear it’s only a two day contract, though, so perfect for you.
I’m happy enemies of America and humanity are dead. You’re not. Because you agree with them.
I wonder whether it was a Virginia or LA class sub. Hope they tell us at some point.
It was the USS Stingray, with Capt. Kelsey Grammer in command,
😂😂 We’ll see who is old enough to understand the reference GG! 😂
I remember that movie but I can’t remember the name of it.
Down Periscope, a play on the serious movie Up Perisope.
Fun movie…. Ever wondered if the captain finally polished the old torpedo with “Welcome Aboard”?
My husband, a submariner on LA class subs, thought it was a very good sub movie, and said he’s known officers like Grammar’s.
South Korea lost the Cheonan to a submarine and there was the Belgrano and another.
On December 9, 1971, PNS Hangor engaged and sank the Indian Navy’s INS Khukri, a Type 14 frigate, in the Arabian Sea.
He specified “enemy ship”, which in this context means “USA enemy”.
Mark Kelly is so disappointed no service people have disobeyed orders that he is thinking about doing another commercial.
I’ll bet a complimentary ticket to a congressional hearing he isn’t.
1. News gets out within the service. I suspect the officers and crew of the submarine will not be buying and drinks for a while.
2. The concept that when your country is engaged in hostilities with a worldwide power that you are safe because you are far away is . . . interesting.
3. Long, long ago when I first became interested in a Navy career [did not get it] it was triggered by the old TV show “Silent Service” about WW-II submarines. I am pleased at hearing about this.
Subotai Bahadur
That was one really good TV show!
Belgrano was angling around the British fleet just outside exclusion zone… but intent was there… boom.
american lives saved~~thanks maga
wonder if a ny sub could do the same??
hold the mayo
“Iranian media decided to showcase their successes against the US—and included scenes of a Soyuz missile hitting the battleship Yamato. The problem is, Soyuz is a space carrier, and the Yamato sank in April 1945. 😉”
https://xcancel.com/jurgen_nauditt/status/2029097402993365187
Are you sure it wasn’t the Spaceship Yamato??? Maybe their wave action gun was down.
Obviously faked. I played 688 Attack Sub all the time in the 90s and it always took *two* torpedoes to sink an enemy ship. So I’m a Navy Expert. /s
Seriously, though. I’ve seen worse takes on Twitter, including one who squawked “War crimes!” about it taking place in international waters (like that’s some sort of ‘free’ space in tag) and another who complained that the sub did not surface afterwards to take the crew off.
I think that because our fast attacks were for so long targeted Soviet subs, rather than surface ships that the world forgot about their abilities against surface ships.
Why does moonmouth always post supporting americas enemies and always opposes America?
Because he’s an America-hating TDS-addled whining garbage crybaby with EXTREMELY soft hands.
He’s also dumber than a bag full of hammers.
He’s getting to the point where he’s not even worth beating up in the comments anymore, he’s so trite and predictable.
He’s not even in America. He’s in some South American country