AC-130J Ghostrider Unleashes Firepower in Massive RIMPAC Sinking Exercise

The U.S. Air Force has released dramatic footage of its AC-130J Ghostrider gunship obliterating the decommissioned USS Dubuque during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercises near Hawaii. The event, part of a massive multinational drill, showcased the raw precision and destructive power of the Air Force’s most advanced gunship in live-fire action.

The Dubuque, an Austin-class amphibious transport dock commissioned in 1967, served in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf before being decommissioned in 2011. During the July 11 “sinking exercise,” or SINKEX, the 27th Special Operations Wing’s AC-130J rained cannon fire on the aging vessel, hammering its superstructure and bow with 30mm and 105mm rounds.

Video released by the military shows each hit rocking the ship as smoke poured from its hull before it slipped beneath the surface, more than 15,000 feet underwater.

The Air Force wasn’t alone in the assault. U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopters and Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force joined the attack, firing Hellfire missiles and artillery at the target. Over two days, the exercise demonstrated the joint firepower and coordination of allied forces.

RIMPAC 2024 involved 29 nations, 40 warships, 150 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel—the largest maritime exercise in the world. The Dubuque wasn’t the only ship sunk.

Just eight days later, the larger USS Tarawa, similar in design to China’s Type 075 amphibious assault ship, was destroyed using multiple munitions, including a Quicksink bomb dropped by a B-2 Spirit bomber.