Epic Fury Continues: American submarine torpedoes Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stepped to the Pentagon podium Wednesday morning with a breaking announcement that carried the weight of eight decades of naval history.

“Yesterday, in the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.”

“Like in that war – back when we were still the War Department – we are fighting to win,” he added.

.@SECWAR “In the Indian Ocean—an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship, that thought it was safe in international waters.

Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo—Quiet Death.

The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War 2. Like in that war—back when we were… pic.twitter.com/Y97YQBxQza

— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) March 4, 2026

The target was the IRIS Dena, a “Moudge-class” frigate (a modern Iranian light destroyer ship) belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Navy. The large ship was running near the southern coast of Sri Lanka – nearly a thousand miles from Iranian coastal waters – after reportedly participating in a naval drill in the Bay of Bengal, according to the U.S. Naval Institute.

Sri Lankan naval officials later told NDTV News that although they did not find the wreckage of the Iranian ship, they did perform a rescue mission, as well as a recovery mission for dead bodies.

“We have been able to rescue 32 survivors, and still we are doing the search and rescue operations in that particular area,” said Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath, the Sri Lankan Navy’s media director.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, standing alongside Hegseth, reflected on the historic moment during Wednesday’s press briefing, saying, “For the first time since 1945, a United States Navy fast attack submarine has sunk an enemy combatant ship using a single Mk-48 torpedo to achieve immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea…This is an incredible demonstration of America’s global reach. To hunt, find, and kill an out-of-area deployer is something that only the United States can do at this type of scale.”

The Department of War released footage of the strike, infrared imagery showing a huge detonation at the stern of the ship before the Dena’s bow pitched skyward and she slipped beneath the surface. Sri Lanka’s Navy now reports that at least 101 crew members remained missing as of Wednesday morning.

The IRIS Dena was no sitting duck. The frigate was armed with heavy deck guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, and torpedoes of her own, per AP News, making her a capable, modern warship.

The last comparable moment in naval history took place during the 1982 Falklands War, when British submarine “HMS Conqueror” sank the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano – the only other torpedo sinking of a warship since 1945, per The War Zone. America has now added to that short list, and Hegseth and Caine made it clear that the U.S. plans to continue.

“We have only just begun to hunt, dismantle, demoralize, destroy, and defeat their capabilities,” stated Hegseth.

American Military officials have confirmed that Operation Epic Fury has “effectively neutralized’ at least 17 Iranian naval vessels as of the time of publication.

For more in-depth prior coverage on Operation Epic Fury and related developments, check out these key reports from The Dallas Express: