Enhancing tactical capabilities and teamwork is the long-standing goal of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercise. The world’s largest international maritime training event is hosted by the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet in and around the Hawaiian Islands.
RIMPAC’s 29th iteration, from late June into early August 2024, features 29 nations, 38 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, about 170 aircraft and more than 25,000 personnel. The 2024 theme, “Partners: Integrated and Prepared,” reflects the biennial exercise’s historic emphasis on interoperability.
Since 1971, RIMPAC participants have benefitted from their combined strategic successes, and even from infrequent failures. For example, improved communication protocols resulted from the accidental and non-fatal downing of a U.S. jet during a 1996 RIMPAC drill.
RIMPAC exercises initially occurred annually. Participation grew, and the U.S. Navy decided to hold the event every other year beginning in 1974 to allow time for planning and logistics. Five nations — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the U.S. — participated in 1971, six in 1998, 10 in 2008 and 25 in 2018. The exercise was limited to at-sea-only participation in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 1971: The first RIMPAC took place with little fanfare. Early exercises reflected a Cold War mentality, with a clear enemy and a consistent training structure.
- 1986: Japan bolstered its RIMPAC presence with two guided-missile destroyers, six destroyers and one submarine.
- 2008: Forces from Australia, Canada, the Republic of Korea and the U.S. oversaw command and control of air and space maneuvers. “When you start working in an international environment, you do not have the trust built right from the start,” said then-Canadian Air Force Brig. Gen. Yvan Blondin. “So, if you can do it in an exercise, the contacts you make [and] the understanding of other countries just makes it easier when you have to do it for real.”
- 2012: A humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) event took place at RIMPAC for the first time, emphasizing collective responses.
- 2014: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy joined the exercise with four ships — and an uninvited spy ship that patrolled outside the exercise area. The U.S. revoked Beijing’s invitation in 2018 due to the Chinese Communist Party’s continued militarization of the South China Sea.
- 2016: A disaster relief drill featured multinational forces and blended conventional and special operations forces.
- 2018: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore sent ships to RIMPAC, increasing their militaries’ involvement in the exercise. Israel, Sri Lanka and Vietnam participated fully for the first time.
- 2024: A lengthy tactical phase enabled more dynamic interactions; expanded HADR drills took place.
IMAGE CREDIT: CMDR. WAHYU WIDADI /U.S. NAVY
James Stavridis, a retired U.S. admiral, wrote that RIMPAC “is globally regarded by naval officers as the Olympic Games of naval power.” Above all, he said, the exercise is “a visible signal of the most important militaries of the vast Pacific Basin being willing to share training, tactics and technology.”
