The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020, when it was held in August. It is hosted and administered by the Indo-Pacific Command, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the control of the governor of Hawaii.
Participants
thumb|The [[USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)|USS Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group along with ships from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, and South Korea during RIMPAC 2000.]]
The first RIMPAC, held in 1971, involved forces from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Australia, Canada, and the US have participated in every RIMPAC since then. Other regular participants are Chile, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. The Royal New Zealand Navy was frequently involved until the 1985 ANZUS nuclear ships dispute and was subsequently absent, until returning to take part in more recent RIMPACs since 2012.
While not contributing any ships, observer nations are involved in RIMPAC at the strategic level and use the opportunity to prepare for possible full participation in the future. The United States contingent has included an aircraft carrier strike group, submarines up to a hundred aircraft, and 20,000 Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and their respective officers. The size of the exercises varies from year to year. In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, both houses of the US Congress have called for a Taiwanese participation of RIMPAC 2022 in the face of "increasingly coercive and aggressive behavior" by China.
By year
thumb|RIMPAC 1972 participants
As discussed previously, the first RIMPAC was in 1971.
RIMPAC 1988
RIMPAC '88 took place in June 1988 and involved the navies of Japan, Australia, Canada, and the United States, as well as United States Air Force B-52s. Two US battle groups staged out of Pearl Harbor for the exercise: The USS Nimitz carrier battle group and the USS Missouri battleship battle group. Following routine training exercises to enhance the multinational forces' abilities to operate together, the two battle groups were split into opposing forces, and a pre-set war game scenario was put into action. The Missouri battle group, with USS Long Beach, HMAS Darwin, HMAS Hobart, and other escort and supply ships, assumed the role of "aggressor" and conducted an imaginary takeover of the friendly island of "Wombat", a fictitious name given to the island of Lanai, as part of the war game exercise. The USS Nimitz carrier battle group, accompanied by at least one submarine and Japanese and Canadian Navy frigates and destroyers, sortied from Pearl Harbor to "rescue" Wombat from the aggressor force.
Soviet intelligence "trawlers" constantly sailed the waters near the entrance of Pearl Harbor during the exercise, "fishing" for radio transmissions and trying to follow warships as they left the harbor. Thus, the US Navy would often sortie many more ships than those needed to participate in the exercise, enticing the trawlers to follow them to sea. After the participating ships left harbor, the decoy fleet would then lead the Soviet trawlers back to Pearl Harbor, leaving the Soviet captains wondering where the carriers and battleships had gone. The much larger carrier battle group eventually "won" the exercise, as was expected, and peace-loving "Wombat" was liberated. Testing and perfecting the joint interoperability of the various nations' navies was the ultimate goal. To this end, neither side "lost".
thumb|USS Missouri (BB-63) tests its guns at RIMPAC 90
RIMPAC 1992
RIMPAC 1992 took place between 19 June and 2 August 1992. Among the vessels' taking part was the aircraft carrier , which was assigned to Battle Force X-Ray, which included ten Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) vessels, including the submarine .
During the exercise, a minor incident occurred when on 13 July 1992, a Qantas Boeing 747-400 flying from Los Angeles to Sydney inadvertently entered into the exercise's area near Hawaii. The aircraft's crew soon overheard a radio warning from the cruiser that 'hostile action' would be taken against any United States Air Force (USAF) aircraft (playing the role of the pretend aggressor) attempting to enter the Cowpens defensive area. The message was accidentally broadcast on the International Air Distress Frequency instead of the internal military radio network, leading to the 747 obeying the warning and leaving the area, despite the airliner not being in any danger. This led to the US apologizing to the Australian Government. These included and her carrier battle group, battlegroup, the amphibious ready group and the Kitty Hawks battlegroup. RIMPAC's boundaries that year reached as far west as Midway Island. Among these vessels were the US carriers Independence, Kitty Hawk and their respective carrier battle groups. Like in RIMPAC '94, the Independence conducted air operations against the Kitty Hawk battle group.
This exercise was notable for the accidental shooting down of a US Navy aircraft by a JMSDF vessel. On 3 June 1996, an A-6E SWIP Intruder from VA-115 (NF-500, BuNo 155704) based on board the Independence was shot down around west of Hawaii by CWIS fire from .
At the time of the incident (4:15 PM) in clear skies, the Intruder was at , towing a target for Yūgiri to shoot down. The radar aboard the destroyer instead locked onto the radar signature of the Intruder and fired on it. The engines caught fire, with the hydraulics seizing up before the crew safely ejected. Initially thought to be mechanical, it was later determined to be human error. The exercise brought together maritime forces from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States. Notably this was HMAS Perth's (D38) last RIMPAC before being decommissioned.
RIMPAC 2000
From 30 May until 6 July 2000, RIMPAC 2000 took place near Hawaii under the command of Vice Adm. Dennis McGinn. It included the naval forces of Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Over 50 ships, 200 aircraft, and 22,000 personnel participated in the exercise. RIMPAC 2000 encompassed a large combined-arms operation involving a number of land, sea, and air assets. The scale of the exercise was used to test the new Coalition-Wide Area Network (C-WAN), which connected all of the ships involved with the designated command ship of the exercise, USS Coronado.
Training operations during RIMPAC 2000 included surface warfare, amphibious landing operations, a sinking exercise (SINKEX), air operations, and the first humanitarian exercise in the history of RIMPAC. The exercise was designed to increase the operational and tactical proficiency of participating units in a wide array of maritime operations by enhancing military-to-military relations and interoperability. 32 ships, 5 submarines, over 170 aircraft, and 20,000 personnel participated in RIMPAC 2010, the world's largest multi-national maritime exercise.
RIMPAC 2010 brought together units and personnel from Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States. During the exercise, participating countries conducted gunnery, missile, anti-submarine, and air defense exercises, as well as maritime interdiction and vessel boarding, explosive ordnance disposal, diving and salvage operations, mine clearance operations, and an amphibious landing. RIMPAC 2010 also emphasized littoral operations with ships like the U.S. littoral combat ship , the French frigate , and the Singaporean RSS Supreme. Ronald Reagan completed its Tailored Ships Training Availability (TSTA) exercises before RIMPAC 2010. Phase III involved scenario-driven exercises designed to further strengthen maritime skills and capabilities. Also, Ronald Reagan conducted a live Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launch, firing at a simulated target, the first since 2007. 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel from 22 nations took part in Hawaii. The exercise involved surface combatants from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and Chile.
The US Navy demonstrated its 'Great Green Fleet' of biofuel-driven vessels for which it purchased 450,000 gallons of biofuel, the largest single purchase of biofuel in history, for $12m. On 17 July, delivered 900,000 gallons of biofuel and traditional petroleum-based fuel to Nimitzs Carrier Strike Group 11.
The exercises included units or personnel from Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States. Russia participated actively for the first time, as did the Philippines, reportedly due to the escalating tensions with the People's Republic of China over ownership of Scarborough Shoal.
RIMPAC 2012 marked the debut of the U.S. Navy's new P-8A Poseidon land-based anti-submarine patrol aircraft. Two P-8As participated in 24 RIMPAC exercise scenarios as part of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron One (VX-1) based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay.
The 2012 movie Battleship is about two Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers (USS John Paul Jones and USS Sampson) and one Japanese Kongō-class destroyer (JS Myoko) discovering an alien armada during RIMPAC 2012.
RIMPAC 2014
thumb|400px|Multinational task force in RIMPAC 2014.
thumb|Marines board a CH-53E helicopter, during RIMPAC 2014
thumb|Divers on exercise during RIMPAC
{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed."
!colspan=2|RIMPAC 2014 participating forces<br />Learjet 35<br />MRH-90 Taipan<br />Diving detachment<br />Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit<br />Land forces
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|||<br /><br />Diving detachments
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|||1 CC-130T Hercules<br />1 CC-150T Polaris<br />6 CF-18 Hornet<br />3 CP-140 Aurora
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|||Almirante Blanco Encalada<br />SH-32 Cougar
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|||ARC Almirante Padilla<br />AS555 Fennec 2
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|||<br />Alouette LUH
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|||<br />Alouette LUH
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|||<br />Land forces
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|||<br /><br />P-3C Orion<br />SH-60K Seahawk<br />Diving detachment<br />Land forces
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|||Infantry platoon
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|||ARM Revolucion<br />AS565 Panther<br />Land forces
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|||Component staff personnel
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|||<br />SH-2G Sea Sprite<br />Mine counter measure detachment<br />Land forces<br />Operational dive team
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|||P-3K2 Orion
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|||
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|||<br /><br /><br />Peace Ark<br />Z-8 Changhe<br />Z-9 Harbin<br />Dive unit<br />Type 815 spy ship , uninvited external observer.
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|||Component staff personnel
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|||<br /><br /><br />P-3C Orion<br />Super Lynx Mk.99<br />Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit<br />Land Forces
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|||Component staff personnel
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|||<br />S-70B Seahawk
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|||Infantry platoon
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|||Component staff personnel
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| and United States Coast Guard||<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />3 submarines<br />AH-1W Super Cobra<br />AH-64D Apache<br />B-52H Stratofortress<br />C-17 Globemaster III<br />C-2A Greyhound<br />CH-47F Chinook<br />CH-53 Sea Stallion<br />E-2C Hawkeye<br />E-3B/C Sentry<br />EA-6B Prowler<br />EP-3 ARIES<br />F/A-18C/D/E/F Hornet/Super Hornet<br />EA-18G Growler<br />F-16 Fighting Falcon<br />F-15E Strike Eagle<br />F-22 Raptor<br />HC-130 King<br />HH-60L/MH-60M Blackhawk<br />KC-135R Stratotanker<br />Learjet 35<br />Hawker Hunter<br />MH-60R/S Seahawk<br />MH-53D/E Super Stallion<br />MQ-9 Predator<br />OH-58D Kiowa<br />P-8A Poseidon<br />P-3C Orion<br />UH-1Y Venom<br />UH-60 Blackhawk<br />Explosive Ordnance Mobile Units<br />Mobile Dive Salvage Units<br />Command, ground & logistic combat elements
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!colspan=1|RIMPAC 2014 observers
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!colspan=2|RIMPAC 2014 Southern California Operation Area
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|||<br /><s></s><br />(Whitehorse was withdrawn by the Canadian Forces for misconduct)<br />Diving Element
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RIMPAC 2014 was the 24th exercise in the series and took place from 26 June to 1 August, with an opening reception on 26 June and a closing reception on 1 August.
For the first time, the Royal Norwegian Navy actively participated in the exercise. Norway sent one and possibly Norwegian marine special forces. China was invited to send ships from its People's Liberation Army Navy, the first time China participated in a RIMPAC exercise, and the first time China participated in a large-scale United States-led naval drill. On 9 June 2014, China confirmed it would be sending four ships to the exercise: a destroyer, a frigate, a supply ship, and a hospital ship.
The year's RIMPAC participants were Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Thailand was uninvited from the exercise following a 22 May military coup. Thailand's absence means that 22 nations participated in RIMPAC instead of the 23 that had been advertised. The exercise involved 55 vessels, more than 200 aircraft, and some 25,000 personnel.
China's 2014 participation in RIMPAC was its first.
RIMPAC 2016
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
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! colspan="2" | RIMPAC 2016 participating forces
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| || <br /><br /><br />3 Lockheed AP-3C Orion<br />1 Learjet 35<br />1 MH-60R Seahawk<br />5 MRH-90 Taipan<br />1 S-70B Seahawk<br />Ground forces
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| || 1 CC-130J Super Hercules<br />3 CP-140 Aurora<br />1 KCC-130T Hercules<br />8 CF-18 Hornet
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| || Almirante Cochrane<br />SH-32 Cougar helicopter
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| || Changdao<br /><br /><br />Peace Ark<br />
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| || Ground forces (Seebataillon und Reservisten des Dezernates Marineschifffahrtleitung)
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| || <br /> Ground forces
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| || Staff and Ground forces
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| || <br /><br />2 P-3C Orion
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| || Ground forces
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| || Ground forces
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| || <br />2 P-3K2 Orion <br />1 SH-2G (I) Seasprite <br />Ground forces
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| || Ground forces
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| || Ground forces
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| || <br /><br /><br />1 P-3C Orion<br />Ground forces
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| and United States Coast Guard || <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />4 submarines<br />2 B-52H Stratofortress<br />2 E-3B/C Sentry<br />2 KC-130 Hercules<br />3 KC-135R Stratotanker<br />1 MC-130J Commando II<br />8 RQ-7Bv2 Shadow<br />8 F-16 Fighting Falcon<br />4 F-22 Raptor<br />10 F/A-18 Super Hornet<br />3 AH-1W SuperCobra<br />1 CH-47F Chinook<br />4 CH-53E Super Stallion<br />1 HH-60M Pave Hawk<br />6 MV-22B Osprey<br />1 OAH-64D Apache<br />2 UH-1Y Venom<br />1 UH-60M Black Hawk<br />Ground forces
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{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
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! colspan="2" | RIMPAC 2016 Southern California Operation Area
In April 2016, the People's Republic of China was invited to RIMPAC 2016 despite the tension in the South China Sea.
RIMPAC 2018
thumb|A landing vehicle practicing on a beach at RIMPAC 2018
In January 2018, China announced that it had been invited. On 23 May 2018, the Pentagon announced that it had "disinvited" China because of recent militarization of islands in the South China Sea. The PRC had previously attended RIMPAC Exercises in 2014 and 2016.
On 30 May 2018, the US Navy announced that about 25,000 naval personnel and 52 ships and submarines from 26 countries would participate.
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
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! colspan="2" | RIMPAC 2018 participating forces
Israel, Vietnam and Sri Lanka made their debut in RIMPAC. Brazil was due to make its debut, but cancelled its participation for the second time. The exercise included a live firing of the AGM-158C LRASM (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile) for the first time.
RIMPAC 2020
thumb|The insignia for RIMPAC 2020
On 29 April 2020, the US Navy announced RIMPAC would be held from 17 to 30 August. It would be an at-sea-only event because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-five (25) nations have been invited to participate. Israel was among the original 25 invited nations, but declined to attend due to the pandemic. There had been some opposition to New Zealand's participation, and there have been calls from peace activists for New Zealand not to attend. The Philippines sent its first missile-capable frigate on its maiden voyage, which was commissioned into service in July 2020, as its "shakedown cruise" where its performance would be tested by the crew in the two-week exercises.
On 17 August 2020, the US Navy announced that participation has scaled down to 10 nations, 22 ships, one submarine, and approximately 5,300 personnel, all at sea. These are the following navies that would take part in the exercise:
{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
!colspan=2|RIMPAC 2020 participating forces
RIMPAC 2022
thumb|upright=1.25|Ships sail in formation during RIMPAC 2022
RIMPAC 2022 was held in the summer of that year, between 29 June and 4 August. It was expected to be a more traditional RIMPAC with the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions.
On 23 February 2022, it was announced that 27 countries are expected to take part. On 14 April 2022, it was announced that Canada would send four warships to participate. The same day, Peru announced that the corvette BAP Guise would take part.
On 1 June 2022, a total of 26 countries have confirmed to take part at Exercise RIMPAC 2022, with the list as follows: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and the United States, being 11 countries from Asia, 5 countries from Europe, 4 countries from South America, 3 countries from North America and 3 countries from Oceania.
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! colspan="2" | RIMPAC 2022 participating forces
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| ARM Usumacinta<br />
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| Special Forces Detachment
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| BAP Guise
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| Marine detachment
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| Almirante Lynch
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! colspan="2" | RIMPAC 2022 Southern California Operation Area It is reported that the decommissioned ship was used in a sinking exercise as part of Exercise RIMPAC 2024. The U.S. Navy officially unveiled the AIM-174B air-to-air missile, an "Air-Launched Configuration" of the RIM-174 Standard ERAM surface-to-air missile. The AIM-174 is the first dedicated long-range air-to-air missile fielded by the U.S. military since the Navy's retirement of the AIM-54 Phoenix.
During RIMPAC 2024, a containerized hybrid manufacturing system incorporating Meltio's wire-laser directed energy deposition technology was operated by the Naval Postgraduate School aboard USS Somerset (LPD-25). The system was used to print and install a replacement pump part, restoring mission capability within 34 hours.
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Experiments
RIMPAC experiments have included a range of sectors important to international militaries. In RIMPAC 2000, for example, the first of the Strong Angel international humanitarian response demonstrations were held on the Big Island of Hawai'i near Pu'u Pa'a. That series continued with events in the summer of 2004 and again in 2006.
Participants have also conducted exercises in ship sinking and torpedo usage. They have also tested new naval vessels and technology. For example, in 2004, the United States Navy tested the Australian-built , a experimental wave-piercing catamaran that draws only of water, has a top speed of almost , and can transport 605 tons of cargo.
Gallery
<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines - RIMPAC 2004.jpg|Marines from Kaneohe Bay conducting an amphibious landing in RIMPAC 2004.
File:Periscope Depth.jpg| at periscope depth, RIMPAC 2004
File:SECNAV_Mabus_RIMPAC_2012.jpg|SECNAV Mabus departs Hickam to review the RIMPAC 2012 fleet
File:Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector lands on the shore.jpg|Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector lands on the shore after disembarking with heavy equipment during a Marine Corps Advanced Warfighting Experiment during RIMPAC 2014. The prototype is a ship-to-shore connector and is 50% scale.
File:SECNAV_tours_RIMPAC_HADR_camp.jpg|SECNAV Richard Spencer meets with RIMPAC 2018 commanders
File:Marines experiment with military robotics RIMPAC 2014.jpg|Legged Squad Support System (LS3) walks around the Kahuku Training Area during RIMPAC 2014. The LS3 is experimental technology being tested by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab.
File:Marines follow Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate (GUSS) RIMPAC 2014.jpg|Marines follow a Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate (GUSS), experimental technology being tested by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab during RIMPAC 2014 at Kahuku Training Area.
File:Chilean_Minister_of_Defense_visits_RIMPAC.jpg|Chilean defense minister Alberto Espina participates in RIMPAC 2018
File:SECDEF_Esper,_meets_with_Adm_Aquilino,_CINPACFLT_aboard_USS_Essex_during_RIMPAC_2020.jpg|SecDef Esper with CINCPACFLT Aquilino at RIMPAC 2020
</gallery>
In popular culture
- RIMPAC 2012 was the main setting of the 2012 film Battleship.
- The IMAX documentary film Aircraft Carrier: Guardians of the Sea covers RIMPAC 2014.
- NCIS: Hawaiʻi S2 E1 "Prisoners Dilemma" story involves RIMPAC 2022.
References
External links
- United States Pacific Command
- Commander, U.S. Third Fleet
- RIMPAC site