The highlight of the RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific) event, the largest multilateral naval war exercise in the world, was the firing session with sharp munitions at targets in the form of former surface warships.
By taking the location of Hawaiian waters, the committee (United States Navy) usually prepares former warships to be destroyed by cannon fire, anti-ship missiles, bombs to torpedoes. However, the fact is that not all targets can be successfully sunk.
Although acting as a 'sitting duck', and can be targeted easily, there is one former warship that is so strong and does not sink when hit by missiles and bombs in large numbers.
This event is always remembered in the RIMPAC implementation, precisely at RIMPAC 2000 (in 2000), the target of the former USS Buchanan (DDG-14) proved how strong and resilient the ship's construction was in the face of air attacks. USS Buchanan is a guided missile destroyer of the Charles F. Adams-class.
The destroyer with an empty weight of 3,277 tons and a full weight of 4,526 tons, on June 13, 2000 at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, North Hawaii, received a combination of fire from an AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missile, a Harpoon anti-ship missile and a GBU-24 guided bomb.
Quoted from theaviationgeekclub.com, details of the fire directed at the USS Buchanan consisted of 3 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles fired by SH-60 Seahawk helicopters, 3 AGM-84 Harpoon missiles fired by F-111 fighter bombers and P-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft. Not only that, from the air, the USS Buchanan was also doused with a GBU-24 (910 kg) laser-guided smart bomb. F
rom below the surface, the 133-meter-long destroyer was also hit by an MK-48 torpedo launched from the USS Buffalo nuclear submarine. Of all the munitions that hit the USS Buchanan, all exploded, with the exception of the MK-48 torpedo which had problems.
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| USS Buchanan |
Well, miraculously until the night went on, the hull of the USS Buchanan was still floating firmly on the surface. Seeing that the target had not yet sunk, apparently the shooting activity was not continued by the committee. Instead, the US Navy the next day (14 June 2000) instead sent an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team to install 90 kg C-4 explosives at the sensitive location of the USS Buchanan.
And after sixteen minutes and three seconds of detonation, the USS Buchanan finally slowly glided quietly to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. A glimpse of the USS Buchanan, built by Todd-Pacific Shipbuilding and launched on May 11, 1960, then handed over to the US Navy on January 31, 1962.
The Cold War-era destroyer is armed with a capable arsenal, such as the RIM-66 Standard (SM-1), Harpoon antiship missile, 2x Mark 42 (127 mm) gun, 1× RUR-5 ASROC Launcher and 6× 324 mm ASW Torpedo Tubes. Before becoming the target of firing at RIMPAC 2000, the destroyer with a gas turbine engine was officially retired on October 1, 1991.
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