U.S. Submarine Torpedo Sinks Iranian Warship in Rare Naval Strike

For the first time since the end of World War II, a warship has reportedly been destroyed by a torpedo launched from a submarine of the United States Navy. The Iranian warship IRIS Dena sank in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka following a U.S. strike on Wednesday.

The United States Department of Defense has not revealed the name of the submarine involved in the attack. Earlier that day, the department released a video showing a torpedo striking the rear section of the Iranian vessel, sending a massive column of water into the air. The impact appeared to break the ship’s structure in two.

During a Pentagon briefing, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the incident as a “silent death.” Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, offered a more technical explanation, saying the torpedo produced an “immediate and decisive effect.”

Authorities in Sri Lanka reported rescuing 32 Iranian sailors from the water. The warship is believed to have had a crew of about 180 people on board.

According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the last time a U.S. submarine sank an enemy vessel with a torpedo was on August 14, 1945, when the submarine USS Torsk destroyed a 750-ton Japanese ship during the final days of World War II.

Since then, American submarines have been involved in highly sensitive intelligence and surveillance missions throughout the Cold War and later conflicts. However, they had not used torpedoes to sink a ship. Instead, submarines have frequently launched cruise missiles, particularly Tomahawk missile, during military operations such as Operation Desert Storm and in strikes linked to conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen, including operations against the Houthi movement. Submarines have also been used in missile strikes linked to nuclear facilities in Isfahan.

General Caine said the Iranian vessel was hit by a Mark 48 torpedo. First introduced in 1972, the weapon has undergone several upgrades over the years. Weighing roughly 3,800 pounds, the torpedo uses sonar to track its target and typically detonates beneath a ship’s hull. The underwater explosion creates a powerful gas bubble that can break the ship’s keel, causing it to snap apart and sink rapidly.

An image released by the Pentagon shows the bow of the damaged warship rising almost vertically above the water moments before it disappeared beneath the surface.