B-2 Sinks Target Ship in First-Ever LRASM Strike
Tuva Siegel
5d
Multilateral forces converged in the Philippine Sea as the stealth bomber unleashed advanced precision munitions, showcasing a lethal new maritime capability designed to counter high-end Indo-Pacific threats.
By: Tuva Siegel, Warrior Editorial Fellow
A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber launched an AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) on June 27, 2026, sinking the decommissioned USS Juneau during a live-fire exercise known as Valiant Shield. This drill took place more than 200 nautical miles north of the Mariana Islands. It brought together U.S. and allied air, naval, and submarine forces against rising threats in the Indo-Pacific. This exercise emphasized “realistic training in detecting, tracking, and engaging threats across sea, air, land, space, and cyberspace domains to enhance overall combined and joint force readiness,” according to the U.S. Navy’s Task Force.
The event was part of Exercise Valiant Shield 2026, a large biennial U.S.-led multinational exercise in the Philippine Sea. Previously, in 2024, the B-2 participated in sinking exercises with the experimental QUICKSINK precision-guided bomb. QUICKSINK was actually the main weapon of choice for maritime strike roles and is a variant of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), specifically modified for maritime strikes, according to a September 2025 Warrior essay. Additionally, in June 2025, "Missouri-based B-2 Spirits dropped 14 30,000-pound GBU-57 massive ordnance penetrators against Iranian nuclear sites during Operation Midnight Hammer," states an article by the U.S. Naval Institute.
https://warriormaven.com/news/sea/b-2-sinks-target-ship-in-first-ever-lrasm-strike
