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The former USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60), once an active guided-missile frigate of the United States Navy, was intentionally sunk during a scheduled live-fire naval exercise after being struck by an AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile. The event took place as part of a SINKEX, or sinking exercise, a type of controlled military training operation designed to evaluate weapon performance and improve naval readiness under realistic conditions.
Although the imagery of a missile striking a former warship may appear dramatic, the sinking of USS Rodney M. Davis was not the result of combat or an unexpected incident. Instead, it marked the final chapter in the vessel’s long operational history, following decades of service and a carefully planned decommissioning process.
A Warship Built for the Cold War
USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG-60) was an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, a class of ships developed during the Cold War to address growing concerns about submarine threats and the need for cost-effective surface combatants. Commissioned in 1982, the ship was named in honor of Marine Corps Captain Rodney Maxwell Davis, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the Vietnam War.