Swedish Gotland submarine “sank” US Nimitz-class carrier
By The BriefBrief
A Swedish HSwMS Gotland diesel-electric submarine conducted exercises in which it “sank” a $6.2 billion US aircraft carrier using simulated torpedoes. The submarine slipped through a screen of US ships and entered an exclusion zone off California during a December 2005 exercise involving USS Ronald Reagan.
WHO:HSwMS Gotland submarine (Sweden) and the US Navy
WHAT:A Swedish submarine exercise used simulated torpedoes to “sink” a US aircraft carrier during an anti-submarine scenario.
WHEN:Reported Aug 28, 2026 at 7:28 PM ET
WHERE:Off the coast of California
WHY:The exercise was intended to test how vulnerable modern US aircraft carriers are to submarine threats.
