US Navy & Submarine Destroyed Iran's Fleet | Explained

Why did a U.S. submarine launch a torpedo at this Iranian warship, striking the Iris Dana with a devastating blow to the stern? The answer lies in the Indian Ocean, where U.S. Central Command is tracking every Iranian vessel. These ships pose a direct threat to Diego Garcia, home to B-2 stealth bombers. Well, even this ordinary-looking cargo ship, for instance, hides a long-range missile system right beneath its hull that can reach the U.S. bases in a very short time. In response to these hidden dangers, the U.S. took out 20 IRGC Navy ships and the prized Soleimani Catamaran-class, a high-speed, twin-hull warship armed to the teeth. On March 4, 2026, the Indian Ocean witnessed something we haven't seen since World War II, an American submarine sinking an enemy warship with a single torpedo. Here is exactly how it went down. It's just before dawn. The Iranian frigate Iris Dana, a heavily-armed Mauj-class warship, is sailing roughly 40 nautical miles off the southern coast of Sri Lanka. She's heading home after participating in a multinational naval exercise in India, but unbeknownst to her crew of around 180 sailors, they are being hunted. Lurking beneath the surface is a U.S. Navy fast-attack submarine. But its mission that morning was absolute. The American sub locks onto the Iranian warship. The weapon of choice is a single Mark 48 heavyweight guided torpedo. As soon as the captain gave the order, the crew fired the torpedo. Traveling at over 50 knots, the Mark 48 heavyweight torpedo cuts silently through the dark water. The crew has zero time to react. The 3,000-pound weapon strikes the Dana directly at the stern, detonating its high-explosive warhead right beneath the hull. The impact is catastrophic. In a fraction of a second, the blast vaporizes the ship's propulsion system, violently tearing the rear deck apart and sending a massive shock wave echoing across the ocean. Inferred footage released by the Pentagon shows a massive detonation blowing the rear of the vessel completely apart. The sheer force of the explosion actually lifts the warship out of the water before it violently begins sinking stern first. The timeline is brutally fast. Just before 5 o'clock a.m. local time, the torpedo strikes. At 5 a.m., the crippled warship issues a frantic distress call to nearby coastguards. Between 6 o'clock and 7 o'clock a.m., the Sri Lankan Navy urgently dispatches ships and aircraft for a search-and-rescue mission. But by the time rescuers reach the coordinates, the Iris Dana is already gone. There is no ship left to save, only life rafts and oil slick and survivors floating in the water. Ultimately, 32 sailors are rescued, but over 80 lose their lives in the dark waters. But how does a U.S. submarine find an enemy target using active and passive sonar to lock on and fire a torpedo? Active sonar emits pulses of sound waves that travel through the water and reflect off the target and return to the ship. By knowing the speed of sound and water and the time for the sound wave to travel to the target and back, the computers can then quickly calculate the distance between the submarine and the target in a short amount of time. But the Virginia-class uses an advanced passive sonar that maps the ocean floors and minefields. Additionally, the sonar array are also attached on each side, along with a long room array to provide quick target location and information. But how does a torpedo works explain in super basic animation? Pressurized air propels the torpedo toward its target. The piston engine with propellers maximizes the torpedo's speed. It trails a wire plugged into the weapons systems aboard the sub using data to navigate. The torpedo accelerates to 32 knots over 35 miles an hour with a range of 8 miles or 12 kilometers. As it nears its target, the wire is cut and its sonar takes over navigation. If a torpedo misses its target, it can circle back and starts hunting the target with its sonar. This one torpedo has the explosive power of 1200 pounds of TNT, and I guess you do not want to be at the receiving end of this weapon. But reports suggest that new breed of barricaded torpedo or super cavitating are going to be the latest upgrades. If you're looking to upgrade your digital defense system, you need to check out this military-grade VPN. Think of Surfshark VPN as your frontline defense. It scans and detects threats, alerting you to thousands of dangerous emails. Beyond that, it includes a robust antivirus software to shield your devices from viruses, malware, and tracking by ads, bots, or third parties. Finally, with Surfshark VPN, a single subscription covers not just you, but also your friends or even your entire city if you want it. Go to our link surfshark.com. By buying through the promo link, you will get four extra months free assured by a 30-day money-back guarantee. But why exactly is the U.S. trying to track down and destroy as many Iranian Navy ships as it can? To understand the strategy behind this, we first need to look at Iran's missile program. The Imad medium-range ballistic missile, with a range of 1,200 miles, which is around 2,000 kilometers, and the Sumer cruise, a 1,500 model on Russian designs, could evade Patriot missile defenses using decoys and maneuvering warheads. These precision-guided weapons would aim to cripple American air power before it could respond effectively. Iran's strategic calculations extend beyond direct confrontation. Proxy forces such as Houthi rebels in Yemen and Iraqi militias could launch ballistic missiles or case of drones at Saudi bases, forcing U.S. and allied forces to spread their resources thin. These indirect attacks would serve as diversions, complicating America's ability to mount a coordinated defense. Let's explore how Iran might target Diego Garcia, the U.S. fortress in the Indian Ocean. As tensions rise on the high seas, Iran could turn its attention to Diego Garcia, a remote but vital U.S. military stronghold in the Indian Ocean. This heavily fortified island serves as a key staging ground for America's strategic bongers, including the nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit self-aircraft, designed to strike deep into enemy territory undetected. So how might Iran counter this threat? The answer lies in covert maritime tactics. Take the Shahid Mahdavi, a repurposed container ship spotted prowling the Indian Ocean in February. On the surface, it appears ordinary, but its cargo holds conceal a deadly secret—ballistic missiles hidden within shipping containers. A surprise barrage of sigil missiles with a striking range of 2,500 kilometers launched from such a vessel could bring Diego Garcia within Iran's crosshairs. But Iran's strategy isn't about surgical strikes. Instead, imagine a swarm of modified Fate 110 short-range ballistic missiles, adaptive for sea launches, raining cluster munitions across the airbase. According to Hudson Institute assessments, just five of these warheads could disable every exposed aircraft on the tarmac. The real blow. Such an attack could cripple the airfield, destroy weapon stockpiles, and leave the island's critical infrastructure inoperable, transforming this distant fortress into a smoldering relic of the storm. While operating near its home port of Bandar Abbas, the corvette was caught in the crosshairs of a coordinated US strike. The impact was immediate and devastating. Because the ship's lightweight hull was constructed from aluminum rather than traditional steel, the metal didn't just fracture—it burned. Catamarans typically possess less hull volume, smaller displacement, and shallower draft compared to mono-hulls of similar length. This warship is equipped with six anti-ship cruise missiles, including four long-range ones likely Norm missile and two short-range anti-ship missiles. It might also be the first Iranian warship to be equipped with a VLS vertical launch system. Its VLS includes six larger cells for surface-to-surface cruise missiles and 16 smaller ones for surface-to-air missiles, all located behind the command bridge. The ships are equipped with a helipad and an crane designed for the deployment and retrieval of fast attack boats. They have the capacity to carry fast-moving surface vessels along with the capability to retrieve and rearm them efficiently. But wait, that's not all. This vessel is also able to carry the Bell 4112 Heavy Helicopter with anti-submarine capability as well as various types of drones like the Shaheed UAV enhancing the combat organization of the Army, Navy, and the IRGC. This is the new Iranian IRGC vessel, the Shaheed Madavi, which is a conversion of the 240-meter long cargo vessel Sarvan. Yes, they literally took this cargo ship and re-engineered it into an amphibious vessel. Basically, it's a container ship that has been converted into a helicopter landing platform suitable for this Bell helicopter and this Sea King acquired during the Shah regime. Remember the Gulf of Oman? This Sea King was the helicopter used to take over the ship and land troops. They can also carry around four attack boats like this and launch multiple attack drones to strike any ship. But wait, there's more. You can also find defensive weapons like this cannon located at the front and the back. Just like the Corvette, it might also have a vertical launch system used for anti-ship missiles. These ships are a threat to the U.S. Navy, so they launch an all-out assault. First up is the Joshan. When this fast-attack craft approached a U.S. surface action group, it fired a U.S.-made Harpoon missile, a remnant from pre-Revolution arms sales. The U.S. cruiser U.S. and Wainwright successfully evaded it using electronic countermeasures and chaff. The U.S. ships instantly returned fire, sinking the Joshan in what became the world's first-ever missile duel between warships. Then came the Sahand. This Iranian frigate sailed out to challenge the U.S. fleet and fired at passing aircraft. The response was immediate. Navy attack jets and the destroyer U.S.A. Joseph Strauss swarmed the vessel, pummeling the Sahand with missiles and heavy bombs until it caught fire and ultimately sank after its own munitions detonated. Later that same afternoon, a third ship, the Sabalin, tried its luck. The frigate fired a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. jet. The pilot simply dodged the missile, looped right back around, and dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb directly down the ship's exhaust stack. The internal explosion completely crippled the vessel. The overarching goal behind all of this was to secure the Strait of Hormuz, the single most critical choke point for global oil. We make original videos animated by humans from scratch, so please subscribe.