The decommissioned American frigate sunk during Atlantic Thunder 2026 went down in deep water around 150 miles off the Western Isles, and the company that runs the range from which the exercise was controlled has now set out what it contributed, according to QinetiQ.
The firm operates MOD Hebrides under the Long-Term Partnering Agreement, the arrangement through which it runs most of the Ministry of Defence’s test and evaluation estate. Its staff safeguarded the exercise area from the Range Control and Range Head buildings on South Uist, managing the safety of a large volume of sea and airspace while live weapons were fired into it.
Will Blamey, Chief Executive of QinetiQ UK Defence, said: “Atlantic Thunder is a complex exercise, delivered in partnership with the US Sixth Fleet and Royal Navy to ensure they are warfighting ready.
“Our experts coordinate a range of activity to ensure the exercise is successful for our partners, from managing the safety of a vast area of sea and air space, to planning and overseeing the realistic live-fire scenarios.”
The company also put its own hardware into the air over the range. Banshee Whirlwind uncrewed aerial targets, flown by the Combined Aerial Targets Service, ran sorties over the exercise area to provide realistic threats, and were tracked by an RAF P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
The range at MOD Hebrides, on South Uist and the surrounding islands, is the only place in the United Kingdom where an exercise of this kind can be run, which is the practical reason an American hull was towed across the Atlantic to be sunk off Scotland rather than disposed of closer to home.
