Indonesian Navy frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai (332) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on June 26, 2022 to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022. U.S. Navy Photo
A total of 21 United States partner nation ships, including one submarine, from 14 countries are now docked at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Hawaii for the Rim of the Pacific 2022 (RIMPAC 2022) exercise that kicks off today.
Twenty-six nations, including the United States as the host, are taking part in the exercise scheduled to go through August 4 in and near the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.
The largest contingent is from the Republic of Korea (ROK), which sent three ships and one submarine, followed by the Royal Australian Navy, with three ships. Canada, Japan and Mexico sent two ships each, while Chile, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines and Singapore each sent a single ship. Several of the ships included embarked helicopters for the biennial drills.
Although the U.S. Navy has not yet officially issued the list of partner nation ships taking part, official news releases over the past month from the navies and defense ministries of the countries taking part have allowed USNI News to compile the list below:
Thirty-eight surface ships, four submarines, nine national land forces, over 170 aircraft and about 25,000 personnel will take part in the drills, according to a U.S. 3rd Fleet news release about RIMPAC 2022.
Countries participating include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States. Countries not represented by ships at the exercise will be represented by ground elements, along with participation either in the various combined command and staff groups or as observers.
Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to participate in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, June 28. U.S. Navy Photo
Four countries – Australia, India, Japan and the ROK – have confirmed that their fixed wing aircraft will join, with two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P-8 Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), an Indian Navy P-8I MPA, a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) P-1 MPA and a Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) P-3 Orion MPA.
A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) element of 40 personnel will also participate in RIMPAC, though Japan has yet to specify what the JGSDF element will be doing in the exercise.
Prior to Tuesday, a number of the ships taking part in RIMPAC carried out joint sailing and exercise activities. Canadian frigates Vancouver and Winnipeg, Chilean frigate Almirante Lynch and Peruvian corvette Guise – along with U.S. Navy ships that included destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) – conducted a joint sail from San Diego to Hawaii that included maneuver, gunfire, replenishment and communication exercises.
#RIMPAC 2022. Durante su travesía a Honolulú, Hawaii–EE.UU, el #BAPGuise participó en el entrenamiento “Group Sail” junto a unidades de las Marinas de Canadá, Chile y EE.UU, realizando ejercicios de artillería, maniobras tácticas, comunicaciones y transferencia de combustible. pic.twitter.com/MpH6nedqGB
— Marina de Guerra (@naval_peru) June 27, 2022
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) pulled into Hawaii on Tuesday ahead of the start of RIMPAC.
After the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and the Australian RIMPAC 2022 contingent sailed together last week, Japanese helicopter destroyer Izumo and destroyer Takanami carried out a replenishment exercise with USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187) on Sunday before doing a joint exercise with French frigate Prairial on Monday.
27 JUN, #IPD22 unit JS IZUMO and JS TAKANAMI conducted a bilateral exercise "OGURI-VERNY" with FS PRAIRIAL in vicinity of Hawaii, and strengthened cooperation with French Armed Forces in French Polynesia which deployed ship to Indo-Pacific region. 🇫🇷⚓️🇯🇵#FOIP pic.twitter.com/CvxpojLJOr
— Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (@jmsdf_pao_eng) June 28, 2022
Royal Malaysian Navy corvette Lekir also carried out a replenishment exercise with Henry J. Kaiser before docking into Pearl Harbor on Tuesday.
𝗦𝗨𝗖𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗨𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 KD LEKIR met with USNS HENRY J. KAISER for an underway replenishment in the waters of Hawaii before heading to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for #RIMPAC2022 #NavyUpdate #CapableAdaptivePartners pic.twitter.com/XbSM0CzPb9
— Royal Malaysian Navy (@tldm_rasmi) June 27, 2022
Dzirhan Mahadzir is a freelance defense journalist and analyst based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Among the publications he has written for and currently writes for since 1998 includes Defence Review Asia, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Navy International, International Defence Review, Asian Defence Journal, Defence Helicopter, Asian Military Review and the Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter.