This is the moment a US military strike destroys a suspected drug smuggling boat in a huge explosion at sea.

The footage was released by US Southern Command and shows a lethal kinetic strike carried out on 8th March against a vessel suspected of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The video shows a small boat floating on the water before a sudden explosion engulfs it, sending debris and smoke into the air.

The US military said the strike killed six men aboard the vessel.

Officials said the boat had been travelling along what they described as a known narco trafficking route and was engaged in drug trafficking operations.

The strike forms part of a wider US campaign targeting suspected drug traffickers at sea that began in early September.

According to reports, more than 40 strikes have been carried out in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea during the campaign.

The operations have killed at least 157 people suspected of involvement in drug trafficking since the campaign began.

The United States government has said the actions are aimed at disrupting the flow of narcotics into the United States.

President Donald Trump has said the United States is in what he described as an “armed conflict” with drug cartels in Latin America.

(Joe Golder/Clipzilla)