Australian Department Of Defence via EPA

Former United States Navy ship Kilauea breaking apart and sinking following a torpedo attack from the Australian Collins Class submarine HMAS Farncomb, on the Pacific Missile Range Facility off Hawaii during the RIMPAC 2012 exercise. Photo made available to NBC News on July 24, 2012.

An Australian submarine sunk a former U.S. warship with a torpedo attack off Hawaii on Sunday as part of the world's largest international maritime exercise.

HMAS Farncomb fired a Mark 48 Torpedo into the Kilauea's hull, striking the ship below the bridge. 

The Kilauea was an ammunition ship commissioned in August 1968, decommissioned and transferred to MSC in October 1980 and deactivated in September 2008.

The Associated Press reported earlier this month that the Navy was resuming its practice of using old warships for target practice and sinking them in U.S. coastal waters after a nearly two-year moratorium spurred by environmental and cost concerns.

U.S. Navy

The ex-USS Kilauea (T-AE-26) was sunk in waters 15,480 feet deep, 63 miles off the coast of Kauai.

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Glyn Kirk / AFP - Getty Images

People watch and wave as the new British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Daring, the first of the Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyers, leaves the southern English harbor of Portsmouth on Jan. 11 on its maiden voyage for a seven-month deployment. Britain's newest warship is heading to the Gulf for its first mission at a time of tensions over Iran's threat to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key transport route for oil.

Glyn Kirk / AFP - Getty Images

New British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Daring, the first of the Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyers on Jan. 11.

The Royal Navy's largest and most powerful destroyer warship embarked on its maiden voyage to the Middle East. The new vessel comes equipped with the latest technology. According to the BBC:

The destroyer is equipped with an air defence system, which can track and destroy a target the size of a cricket ball travelling three times the speed of sound.

It has the ability to operate a range of helicopters from its flight deck and embark up to 60 troops in addition to its own ship's company, meaning it is a versatile asset that can support land forces and carry out humanitarian missions.

The ship, at 500ft, has been said to be longer than 16 London buses and weighs 8,200 tons.

This comes at a time when tensions are already high between Iran and Western nations, and Iran's increased activity along the Strait of Hormuz. According to AP:

Iran has rolled out its troops and arsenals in an unprecedented display of military readiness. It wrapped up naval maneuvers earlier this month that included the first threats to block Gulf oil tankers. Ground forces also were sent on winter war games — against what a Tehran military spokesman called a "hypothetical enemy" — with U.S. forces just over the border in Afghanistan.

The ship's Captain Guy Robinson told Portsmouth's The News, "it’s a routine task, but of course we are ready for any contingency that may occur. We are on operations and we are ready for the full scale of operations that might be required of us."

Matt Cardy / Getty Images

Crew members wave from the HMS Daring, as the destroyer warship leaves Portsmouth Harbor on Jan. 11.