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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Edward Helmore

US navy destroyer adrift in South China Sea for four days after losing power

a warship at sea
The US guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold conducts routine operations while underway in South China Sea on 23 July 2026. Photograph: Seaman Apprentice Andrew Novak/US Navy

A US guided-missile destroyer reportedly spent four days adrift and without power in the South China Sea in July, furthering concerns about strain being placed on deployed military members.

The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer which had been sailing with the George Washington carrier strike group, was reported to have been towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines, according to the US Naval Institute News, an independent military publication.

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