NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFCNF) has released striking footage of a live-fire exercise in which Norwegian submarine KNM Uthaug torpedoed and sank the decommissioned warship KNM Trondheim.
The controlled strike took place during Exercise Ægir 25 off the coast of Andfjorden, a fjord in northern Norway.
“Recently, during exercise Ægir 25, submarine KNM Uthaug 🇳🇴 fired one of its torpedoes at the decommissioned frigate [warship] KNM Trondheim, with the aim of sinking the vessel,” JFCNF wrote on X.
According to the command, the scenario was designed to showcase the capability and deterrent power of submarine-launched weapons. “The purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate the striking power that the weapon and the submarine represent,” the organization explained, adding that “a submarine has long endurance, operates covertly, and has a unique ability to dictate the battle.”
In the video shared by JFCNF, a massive plume of seawater erupts into the air as the torpedo hits its target. The former frigate then rolls onto its side, becomes half-submerged, and ultimately disappears beneath the surface, sinking to the ocean floor.
The Forsvaret (Norwegian Armed Forces), the British Royal Navy and Poland all took part in Exercise Ægir 25, JFCNF said.
Allied Joint Force Command Norfolk is an operational-level headquarters within NATO’s Military Command Structure under Allied Command Operations. Based in North America, it is responsible for safeguarding the trans-Atlantic sea lines of communication and the Arctic region, according to the organization’s website.
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This latest torpedo test follows another major milestone reached during Ægir 25: the first operational firing of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) from the Royal Navy’s HMS Somerset in September. The launch was carried out to highlight the “strong bilateral cooperation between the U.K. and Norway,” the Royal Navy said in a press release.
“I am very proud of the team following the successful first-of-class firing of the Naval Strike Missile,” Matt Millyard, Commanding Officer of HMS Somerset, said.
