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
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, Philippines, 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
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".
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. A Qantas spokesperson stated that the flight was only delayed by 19 minutes.
RIMPAC 1994 RIMPAC 1994 involved 57 vessels, and more than 200 aircraft from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Canada. 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. During the exercise, the Independences air wing (CVW-5) conducted war-at-sea strikes against the Kitty Hawk, with the support of Japanese and US vessels.
RIMPAC 1996
RIMPAC 1996 involved more than 48 ships and 200 aircraft. 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 CIWS 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. RIMPAC 1996 was the first time that the Chilean Navy was involved in the exercise.
RIMPAC 1998 From July 6 until August 6, 1998, RIMPAC 98 took place in the waters off Hawaii and included participants from six Pacific nations. 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.
RIMPAC 2010
On 23 June 2010, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Patrick M. Walsh and Combined Task Force commander Vice Admiral Richard W. Hunt announced the official start of the month-long 2010 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise during a press conference held in Lockwood Hall at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam. RIMPAC 2010 was the 22nd exercise in the series that originated in 1971. 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.
On 28 June 2010, the aircraft carrier arrived in Pearl Harbor to participate in RIMPAC 2010. Ronald Reagan was the only aircraft carrier to participate in this exercise. During the in-port phase of RIMPAC, officers and crew of the 14 participating navies interact in receptions, meetings, and athletic events. Ronald Reagan completed its Tailored Ships Training Availability (TSTA) exercises before RIMPAC 2010.
During 6–7 July 2010, 32 naval vessels and five submarines from seven nations departed Pearl Harbor to participate in Phase II of RIMPAC 2010. This phase included live fire gunnery and missile exercises; maritime interdiction and vessel boardings; and anti-surface warfare, undersea warfare, naval maneuvers, and air defense exercises. Participants also collaborated in explosive ordnance disposal, diving and salvage operations, mine clearance operations, and amphibious operations. Phase III involved scenario-driven exercises designed to further strengthen maritime skills and capabilities.
During RIMPAC 2010, over 40 naval personnel from Singapore, Japan, Australia, Chile, Peru, and Colombia managed combat exercises while serving aboard Ronald Reagan. This involved managing anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare for Carrier Strike Group Seven and the entire RIMPAC force, including the use of radar, charts, and high-tech devices to monitor, chart, and communicate with other ships and submarines. Tactical action officers from the different countries coordinated the overall operational picture and provided direction and administration to the enlisted personnel involved in the Sea Combat Control (SCC) activities. Also, Ronald Reagan conducted a live Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launch, firing at a simulated target, the first since 2007.
On 30 July 2010, RIMPAC 2010 concluded with a press conference held at Merry Point Landing on Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam. A reception for over 1,500 participants, distinguished visitors, and special guests was held in the hangar bays of the carrier Ronald Reagan.
During RIMPAC 2010, participating countries conducted three sinking exercises (SINKEX), involving 140 discrete live-fire events, that included 30 surface-to-air engagements, 40 air-to-air missile engagements, 12 surface-to-surface engagements, 76 laser-guided bombs, and more than 1,000 rounds of naval gunfire from 20 surface combatant warships. Units flew more than 3,100 air sorties, completed numerous maritime interdiction and vessel boardings, explosive ordnance disposal, diving and salvage operations, and mine clearance operations, and 10 major experiments, with the major one being the U.S. Marine Corps Enhanced Company Operations experiment.
Ground forces from five countries completed five amphibious landings, including nine helicopter-borne amphibious landings, and 560 troops took part in a ship-to-shore mission. In all, 960 different training events were scheduled. 96 percent were completed in all areas of the Hawaiian operations area, encompassing Kāneʻohe Bay, Bellows Air Force Station, the Pacific Missile Range Facility, and the Pohakuloa Training Area.
RIMPAC 2012