News United States Air Force
 Mission complete: AF MQ-9s close out successful RIMPAC exercisePublished Aug. 13, 2022
                        
                        
                        49th Wing Public Affairs
                **MARINE CORPS AIR STATION KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii (AFNS) --**
                After weeks of non-stop training scenarios on land, at sea and in the air,******Rim of the Pacific** 2022 concluded Aug. 4.

Among the 25,000 service members participating in the exercise was a small**MQ-9 Reaper**detachment comprised of active-duty,Air National Guard and Reserve Airmen from Reaper squadrons across the country. Although small in numbers, the MQ-9 enterprise left an indelible mark on the world’s largest maritime exercise bydemonstrating theremotely piloted aircraft’s capabilities at RIMPAC for the first time.“The MQ-9 Reaper community made its debut at RIMPAC 2022 and led the exercise with 32 sorties in 22 days spanning 316 airborne hours supporting a wide range of mission sets,” saidU.S. Air National Guard Capt. Philip West, RIMPAC MQ-9 Maritime Force integration lead. “We became the most requested asset by partner nations, receiving as many as three times the requests as any other.”U.S. Air Force maintenance Airmen from the 163d Attack Wing and 49th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron refuel an MQ-9A Reaper assigned to the 163d Attack Wing, after landing at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022.Maintenance Airmen from the 163d Attack Wing and 49th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron refuel an MQ-9A Reaper assigned to the 163d Attack Wing, after landing at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, July 26, 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 relationships 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. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Emerson Nuñez)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res
    
    U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Gabriel Peralta, 29th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron avionics specialist, conducts pre-flight checks on an MQ-9 Reaper during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022 July 26, 2022, at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.Senior Airman Gabriel Peralta, 29th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron avionics specialist, conducts pre-flight checks on an MQ-9 Reaper during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022 July 26, 2022, at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, three 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 relationships 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. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Antonio Salfran)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res
    
    MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, Hawaii (July 25, 2022) An MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 49th Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., sits on the taxi way prior to takeoff during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, July 25.An MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 49th Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., sits on the taxi way prior to takeoff during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, July 26, 2022. Unmanned and remotely operated vessels extend the capability of interconnected manned platform sensors to enhance the warfighting capacity of multinational joint task forces. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, three 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 relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise is in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Antonio Salfran)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-ResThe demands of the exercise meant Airmen sustained 24-hour operations enabling the MQ-9s to support 63 missions, which included 25 maritime operation missions, seven personnel recovery missions, six opposition forces missions, and six intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. They also loaded and launched 16 **Hellfire missiles**.Long missions andHellfire launches are standard in the MQ-9 world; doing so over the Pacific Ocean and integrating with naval ships, however, is not.MQ-9 Reaper statistics for first appearance at Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022.MQ-9 Reaper statistics for first appearance at Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022. Unmanned and remotely operated vessels extend the capability of interconnected manned platform sensors to enhance the warfighting capacity of multinational joint task forces. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, three 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 relationships 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 Air Force Graphic)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res

    









RIMPAC introduced the MQ-9 to training events like a sinking exercise, also known as**SINKEX**. The scenario saw several nations target and sink a decommissioned shipto test weapons systems. According to West, while the scenario was unfolding at sea, the MQ-9 was in the air gathering data that will be used to build a database to inform training development.

Other maritime events included an amphibious assault scenario as well as war-at-sea and surface exercises, which capitalized on the MQ-9s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to aid ships in finding and targeting opposing forces. The aircraft was also used as a catalyst for a simulated wartime scenario, something fellow participants had never exercised before.

Needless to say, after months of coordinating, the reward at the end of the exercise is sweet especially for leaders like Air Force Lt. Col. Justin Muller, RIMPAC MQ-9 detachment commander, and planners like West.

“The impact wemade, and the impact made upon us, cannot be overstated. All our Airmen, from the crew chiefs and avionics technicians to the aircrew flying the sorties learned a great deal about interoperability on the joint and international level,” Muller said. “We successfully demonstrated our capabilities to all the other players who weren’t quite sure what an MQ-9 could do.”“The MQ-9 and our team here has received praise from all directions,” West said. “Different participants came up to me saying the MQ-9 was far more diverse than they thought, someone called the Reaper a ‘game changer’, and another felt including the Reaper should be part of normal operations here at RIMPAC. It was a lot of hard work, but this is exactly what we set out to do.”training 



Ready AF 



AETC 



LR 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



RIMPAC 



Rim of the Pacific 



MQ-9 



Reaper 



Defender 



Joint Training 



Maritime 



sinking exercise 



SINKEX 



Marines 



Kaneohe Bay 



Hawaii 



interoperability 



Hellfire missile 



Aircraft 



Remotely Piloted Aircraft 



RPA 



international partners