RIMPAC 22, the largest maritime exercise in the world and one of the largest exercises in the U.S. military’s calendar and a deterrence message to China’s ambitions over Taiwan, is taking place right now in the Indo-Pacific.
RIMPAC 2022
RIMPAC 22 is truly big in numbers and scope. In this year’s version, 26 militaries are participating in the exercise, and they are contributing a total of 38 surface warships, 4 submarines, approximately 170 fighter, attack, transport, and refueling aircraft, and more than 30 unmanned aerial systems.
“By coming together as Capable, Adaptive Partners, and in the scale that we are, we are making a statement about our commitment to work together, to foster and sustain those relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of the sea lanes and the security of the world’s interconnected oceans,” Vice Admiral Michael Boyle, the overall commander of RIMPAC 2022, said in a press release.
“This is also how we find the areas where our national objectives overlap, where we can practice the procedures that will help to enable our interchangeability –the nexus of national will and interoperability,” Boyle added.
In addition, to maritime and aviation elements, ground forces from 9 countries are participating too. All in all, more than 25,000 troops are taking part in RIMPAC 22.
“It’s great to see the exercise return to the scale that we have seen in previous years, enabling the combined forces of our 26 partner and allied nations to work together and learn from each other,” Royal Canadian Navy Rear Admiral Christopher Robinson, the deputy commanding officer of the RIMPAC Combined Task Force, stated. Deputy Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy.
“We are each maritime nations and we rely on each other to help keep our sea lanes free and open. RIMPAC provides us with the opportunity to grow and refine our individual and combined abilities, and our joint capacity to contribute to security in the Indo-Pacific region. This helps us all,” Robinson added.
Lots of Ships!
The U.S. Naval Institute News has compiled an unofficial list of most of the warships that are taking part in RIMPAC 22 (excluding the U.S. Carrier Strike Group 3 based around the USS Abraham Lincoln). Here they are:
Australia
Landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra (L02)
Frigate HMAS Warramunga (FFH152)
Replenishment ship HMAS Supply (A195)
Canada
Frigates HMCS Vancouver (FFH331) and HMCS Winnipeg (FFH338)
Chile
Frigate Almirante Lynch (FF07)
France
Frigate FS Prairial (F731)
India
Frigate INS Satpura (F48)
Indonesia
Frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai (332)
Japan
Helicopter Destroyer JS Izumo (DDH-183)
Destroyer JS Takanami ((DD-110)
Malaysia
Corvette KD Lekir (FSG26)
Mexico
Frigate ARM Juárez (POLA-101)
Landing ship tank ARM Usumacinta (A412)
New Zealand
Replenishment ship HMNZS Aotearoa (A11)
Peru
Corvette BAP Guise (CC-28) – corvette
The Philippines
Frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151)
Republic of Korea
Landing helicopter platform ROKS Marado (LPH-6112)
Destroyers ROKS Sejong the Great (DDG-991) and ROKS Munmu the Great (DDH-976)
Attack submarine ROKS Shin Dol-seok (SS-082)
Singapore
Frigate RSS Intrepid (69)
In total, the following countries are participating in RIMPAC 22 in some role: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.
1945’s New Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
