US torpedo sinks heart of Iranian fleet

Deadly precision weapon

US torpedo tears apart Iranian warship

At least 80 dead have been recovered after the attack on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka. Dozens of crew members are still missing.

According to Sri Lanka, at least 80 crew members were killed when an Iranian warship was fired on in the Indian Ocean. The bodies were recovered after the ship sank, Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra told local broadcaster Ada Derana. Dozens of crew members were initially missing.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the attack at the Pentagon. “An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth told reporters. Accordingly, the Iranian ship was hit by a torpedo. “A quiet death,” said Hegseth.

A video released by the Pentagon showed the attack. It shows how a huge explosion shakes the Iranian ship and apparently tears off the stern, causing the ship to sink. According to Hegseth, it was the first time since the Second World War that an enemy warship was sunk by a US torpedo.

According to media reports, the weapon system used is a Mark 48 heavyweight torpedo. It can be used against both underwater and surface targets and is one of the most powerful weapons in the US Navy. With a length of 5.80 meters and a weight of up to 1.7 tons (depending on the model), it can carry an explosive device weighing 295 kilograms. The weapon is considered extremely quiet and difficult for the enemy to detect. The torpedo is designed in such a way that it detonates exactly under the stern of the target object and reliably causes it to sink.

The Sri Lankan government had previously spoken of at least 180 people on board the Iranian ship “IRIS Dena”. Of them, 32 were rescued during a joint rescue operation by the Sri Lanka Navy and Air Force off the country’s southwest coast. The ship was therefore traveling in international waters after taking part in an international maneuver from February 18th to 25th. According to Hemachandra, the ship was on its way back to Iran from India.

The Sri Lankan newspaper Daily Mirror initially reported, citing local military officials, that the Iranian Navy’s IRIS Dena had been attacked by a submarine. The Sri Lankan military leadership did not initially confirm this. “Our attention was on the search and rescue operation,” the naval command spokesman was quoted as saying by local media. According to reports, the ship had sent distress signals.