Key facts
- China's navy reported a foreign warship lost power, propulsion, and radar in the South China Sea.
- The incident involved a foreign vessel shadowing the PLA Navy destroyer Zunyi during training.
- The USS Benfold, a US Navy destroyer, lost power for four days in July due to an engineering failure.
- During its outage, the USS Benfold lost radar, combat systems, communications, and propulsion control.
- The USS Benfold's crew experienced a lack of toilets, potable water, food service, and air conditioning.
China's navy has reported a rare encounter in the South China Sea where a foreign warship allegedly lost power, propulsion, and radar while shadowing a Chinese destroyer. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the incident occurred when a foreign vessel conducted aggressive close shadowing of the PLA Navy Type 055 destroyer Zunyi during routine training.
The USS Benfold, a US Navy guided-missile destroyer, experienced a significant engineering failure on July 24, 2026, losing power for four days. This casualty involved its generators, leading to a loss of essential functions. The warship lost its SPY-1D radar, Aegis combat system, missile fire control, communications links, and propulsion control, rendering it "blind and defenseless," according to one technical analysis. The approximately 8,300-ton warship's roughly 300 sailors were without functioning toilets, potable water, galley services, and air conditioning in the sweltering heat of the South China Sea.
The US 7th Fleet confirmed the incident, stating it was due to an "engineering casualty involving its generators." The cause of the power outage is under investigation. The USS Robert Smalls, a Ticonderoga-class cruiser, assisted by providing meals to the Benfold's crew. This event follows reports of other Arleigh Burke-class destroyers experiencing electrical failures in the Indo-Pacific and comes amid broader concerns about the US Navy's operational strain due to global commitments.