Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Smart Bombs: Military, Defense and National Security

What Is RIMPAC 2022? Simple: A Warning to China

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii (July 6, 2022) U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Darrel Ebaugh, a scout sniper with Weapons Company, Battalion Land Team, 3d Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Marine Air-Ground Task Force 7 (MAGFT-7), sights in on a target during a live-fire sniper range in support of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, July 6, 2022. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationship among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brayden Daniel)
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii (July 6, 2022) U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Darrel Ebaugh, a scout sniper with Weapons Company, Battalion Land Team, 3d Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Marine Air-Ground Task Force 7 (MAGFT-7), sights in on a target during a live-fire sniper range in support of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, July 6, 2022. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationship among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brayden Daniel)

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 InsiderSandboxx, and SOFREP.

1945’s Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist with specialized expertise 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.

Advertisement