Latihan RIMPAC

Para peserta

Edisi sulung latihan RIMPAC telah diadakan pada tahun 1971, yang mana melibatkan pasukan tentera daripada Australia, Kanada, New Zealand, United Kingdom (UK), dan Amerika Syarikat. Australia, Kanada, dan AS terlibat dalam semua latihan RIMPAC siejak tahun ini. Para peserta biasa yang lain adalah Chile, Colombia, Perancis, Indonesia, Jepun, Malaysia, Belanda, Peru, Singapura, Korea Selatan, dan Thailand. Tentera Laut Diraja New Zealand mula melibatkan diri secara kerap sehingga pertikaian kapal-kapal nuklear ANZUS 1985 mula timbul, tetapi mula menyertai semula dalam latihan RIMPAC terbaharu iaitu pada tahun 2012, 2014 dan 2016.
Beberapa negara pemerhati lain selalunya juga dijemput termasuk China, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Filipina, dan Rusia, yang mana menjadi peserta aktif untuk pertama kali pada tahun 2012. Meskipun tidak meyumbangkan sebarang kapal, negara pemerhati dalam latihan RIMPAC terlibat pada tahap strategik dan menggunakan peluang ini untuk persediaan bagi penglibatan penuh pada masa depan.
Kontigen daripada Amerika Syarikat termasuk sebuah kumpulan penyerang pengangkut pesawat, kapal selam, sehingga seratus buah pesawat dan 20,000 kelasi, daripada Marin AS, Pengawal Pantai dan para pegawai mereka. Saiz latihan berbeza dari tahun ke tahun.

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. Thirty-two ships, five 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, 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 will also emphasize littoral operations with ships like the U.S. littoral combat ship Freedom, the French frigate Prairial, and the Singaporean frigate kelas-Formidable RSS Supreme.
On 28 June 2010, the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan 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 prior to 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 (pictured). 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, 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 3100 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 from ship-to-shore mission. In all, 960 different training events were scheduled and 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.

Experiments

RIMPAC experiments have included a range of sectors important to international militaries. In RIMPAC 2000, for example, the first of the Strong Angel international humanitarian response demonstrations was held on the Big Island of Hawai'i near Pu'u Pa'a. That series continued with events in the summer of 2004 and again in 2006.
Participants have also conducted exercises in ship-sinking and torpedo usage. They also have tested new naval vessels and technology. For example, in 2004, the United States Navy tested the Australian built HSV-2 Swift, a 321-kaki (98 m) experimental wave-piercing catamaran that draws only 11 kaki (3.4 m) of water, has a top speed of almost 50 knot (93 km/h; 58 mph), and can transport 605 tons of cargo.