Born survivor: Norwegian frigate succumbs to Quicksink 12 years on from missile strike

Video has been released of a torpedo exploding under a Norwegian frigate, breaking the ship in half.

The Quicksink exercise took place near Andøya in the north of the country.

But this wasn't the first time the target ship had been blown up.

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KNM Trondheim was first used to test the deadly Norwegian-made Naval Strike Missile back in 2013.

On that occasion the missile's 120kg warhead caused massive damage, but did not sink her.

This time round the Norwegians towed out the Trondheim yet again – plus another 1960s-vintage Oslo-class frigate – to use as targets.

A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber flew from the United States and destroyed KNM Bergen by dropping Joint Direct Attack Munitions.

Then, during Exercise Ægir 25, Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and Norwegian counterpart Thor Heyerdahl – plus the Polish military – all fired Naval Strike Missiles at KNM Trondheim.

Her original superstructure was long gone and had been replaced by shipping containers, which the missiles with dummy warheads went straight through.

And the grand finale? A Norwegian Ula-class submarine fired a torpedo to finish off the ship.

Using a proximity fuse, it appears to have exploded under the hull, lifting the ship out of the water before her own weight caused her to snap in two.

With the watertight doors open, the ship rapidly flooded and sank into the Arctic waters.