A decommissioned US warship has been sunk off Scotland’s west coast during a training exercise.

USS Klakring was hit by a missile and a torpedo before sinking in the North Atlantic about 170 miles (274km) off the Outer Hebrides last Monday.

The US Navy said the ship went a through “rigorous” cleaning process first, and personnel checked for the presence of whales and dolphins before the live-firing exercise started.

Other warships, including an aircraft carrier in 2006, have been deliberately sunk at sea by the US as part of training and to create artificial reefs for marine life.

USS Klakring was sunk during Exercise Atlantic Thunder 2026, which involved US and UK armed forces.

The former guided missile frigate was fired on by a missile from USS Paul Ignatius and a torpedo from USS Massachusetts.

The UK’s Royal Navy also tested “ship-busting” weapons during the exercise.

USS Klakring entered service in 1983 and was decommissioned in 2013.

It was named for Rear Adm Thomas B Klakring, who was awarded three US Navy Crosses as the commander of a submarine during World War Two.

The US Navy said sinking exercises were prepared in strict compliance with environmental regulations.

A spokesperson said: “The extensive preparations for the exercise include putting the hulk through a rigorous cleaning process to remove contaminants and old equipment, thereby assuring that the environmental impact of the exercise is minimal.

“Sinking ex-navy vessels, which are specially prepared as targets, provides a practicable method for conducting large scale exercises of this type, to train at the high level required by the armed forces.”