RIMPAC: The Navy’s Real Impact in the International Arena
The MOC
By
Andrew I. Park
August 10, 2022
Despite recent budgetary hiccups and attacks, the Navy has prevailed once again by proving its crucial importance in the era of great power competition by successfully conducting the world’s largest military exercise, the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC). With participation by military forces of ‘like-minded’ nations from not only the Indo-Pacific but also Europe, Middle East, and North and South America, the biennial exercise is a platform through which the Navy leads other service branches and several dozen nations to enhance interoperability among participating armed forces, as a means of promoting stability in the region to the benefit of all participants. While the exercise has served well since 1971 as an important tool for the U.S. government to demonstrate its commitment towards the region, the Navy demonstrated several important masteries through this year’s RIMPAC: 1) coalition building; 2) capability testing; 3) interoperability & interchangeability.
Coalition Building
The Indo-Pacific theater is predominantly a maritime domain that covers 52 percent of the Earth’s surface, from North Pole to South Pole, and from Hollywood to Bollywood. In such a geographically expansive area of responsibility lies the most contested geopolitical hotspots, including the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and East China Sea. As China’s recent North Korea-style missile provocation in response to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan demonstrates, China continues to pursue expansionist and revisionist policies that jeopardize the national security interests of not only the United States but also that of numerous allies and partner nations.
Accordingly, the Navy must be commended for hosting 26 like-minded nations that abide by the rules-based international order. In total, 38 surface ships, 4 submarines, 9 national land forces, 30+ unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel came together under the leadership of the U.S. Navy – against the backdrop of increasing threat from China. Among these nations, many have suffered from territorial and economicinfringement perpetrated by China. Considering that the previous exercise in 2020 was downscaled to one-third of its usual size due to the pandemic, the Navy’s commitment and ability to bring the exercise back to full strength makes this year’s RIMPAC more impactful.
Although RIMPAC is not oriented against any particular nation-state or situation, it is intended to “demonstrate the solidarity of all of its participants to the international rules-based order and the principles of sovereignty, of freedom of the seas, and of the United Nations Convention of the Law of Sea, and against what otherwise would be expansionist activities on states that would revise that agreed-upon international rules-based order.” Hence, the U.S. Navy’s investment of enormous time and resources to practice and engage with allies and partners sends a clear message to an ‘unspecified actor,’ as the Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Paparo stated.
Capability Testing
During the exercise, the Navy tested the hybrid manned-unmanned team concept that is critical to the future of naval technology. As the Navy hopes to test the ability of unmanned surface vehicles (USV) to augment manned vessels with additional sensing or weapons capabilities, the new command for USV, USV Division (USVDIV) One, dispatched four USVs to RIMPAC. Among the four, Sea Hunter and Seahawk were controlled by crews embarked aboard their respective destroyers, whereas Nomad and Ranger were controlled by crews at an operations center in San Diego. Although the Navy is still collecting and analyzing data from the USVs’ operations, RIMPAC served as a valuable testing ground for the future concept of operations, which envisions one manned surface vehicle controlling multiple USVs. Not everything went in accordance with the plan, however, as one of the ‘synced’ destroyers had to drop out of the exercise for an unspecified reason. Ironically, this unexpected opportunity allowed the crews to test seamless transfer of the USV control from the destroyer to the shore-based operations center in San Diego.
The Navy is not the only one that benefited from testing unmanned systems during the exercise. The U.S. Air Force’s MQ-9A Reaper crews received the opportunity to learn how their system communicates with naval assets and operates in the maritime domain.
The most anticipated parts of the exercise, however, were the two live fire sinking exercises (SINKEX). As rare as it is for the U.S. military to conduct SINKEX, it is rarer for foreign forces to have the opportunity to test their own capabilities on a recently decommissioned warship. The first offering was the frigate USS Rodney M. Davis. USN F/A-18EA Super Hornets and USMC F-35C Lightning II fighters dropped paveway laser-guided bombs alongside ship-based anti-ship missile fire from Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Winnipeg as well as Royal Malaysian Navy Kasturi-class frigate KD Lekir. This was significant as it was the first time that the Royal Malaysian Navy fired outside of their territorial waters. USN maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft P-8 Poseidon also had a unique opportunity to be equipped with and launch an anti-ship Harpoon missile, providing a valuable data point to test its ability to conduct high-end missions, instead of just dropping sonobuoys. Surprisingly, even after being struck by these formidable weapon systems, the decommissioned warship remained afloat for a considerable amount of time. This draws a stark difference from the sinking of Moskva – even in the absence of trained crews to control damage, thanks to the absence of combustibles and sealed compartments.
The second SINKEX was conducted on a decommissioned Austin-class amphibious transporter dock USS Denver, providing an opportunity for U.S. and Japanese military to test multi-domain capabilities. From land, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force fired Type 12 anti-ship missiles and U.S. Army launched guided rockets from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. From the air, USN F/A-18F Super Hornets of Fighter Squadron 41 shot a long-range anti-ship missile, USMC F/A-18 C/D Hornets of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 and Marine Air-Ground Task Force 7 fired cruise missile, air-to-ground anti-radiation missiles, and Joint Direct Attack Munition guided bombs, and U.S. Army’s AH-64 Apache helicopters fired air-to-ground Hellfire missiles, rockets, and 30mm guns. From the sea, USN guided-missile destroyer USS Chaffee shot Mark 45 five-inch gun.
Interoperability & Interchangeability
The USN values interoperability with partners and allies and therefore shared its accumulated experiences and advanced capabilities. Accordingly, participating forces including Australian and New Zealand navies dispatched refueling and replenishments ships to practice the necessary skills. The Mexican navy also learned how to conduct refueling at sea. In the air, USN’s P-8 Poseidon and Royal Canadian AF CP-140 Aurora drilled together to learn how they perform in sync. Finally, the Hawaii-based USMC squadron trained on an Australian amphibious carrier HMAS Canberra L02.
The multinational armada conducted not only warfighting techniques but also humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions. Under a simulated mass rescue operation exercise, Australian, Japanese, South Korean navies joined the USN, U.S. Army, and U.S. Coast Guard to conduct complex operations: 1) USCG Cutter William Hart played a distressed fishing vessel; 2) JSDF JS Izumo reported to USCG Rescue Coordination Center; 3) USCG Cutter Midgett joined the search and launched an embarked USN MH-60R helicopter for search and rescue missions; 4) U.S. Army helicopters from the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade landed on Izumo and transported the patients to amphibious assault ship USS Essex; 5) aboard Essex, 80 medical personnel of Australia, USN, U.S. Army in addition to 5 South Korean and 2 USN chaplains providing necessary medical and religious support.
The participants were given an additional opportunity to conduct a multinational and joint rescue operation, during an actual fire on a Peruvian Corvette, Guise. The two injured Peruvian sailors were evacuated by French helicopter dispatched by FS Prairial and were transported to USCG Cutter Midgett first, then to USS Abraham Lincoln, and then to shore at a Honolulu hospital to receive treatment.
Lessons Learned
Given that China and other opponents of the rules-based international order are behaving increasingly assertively by conducting missileprovocations and infringing on sovereign territories in the Indo-Pacific, the Navy’s role in the vast maritime domain is more critical than ever. Hence, this year’s RIMPAC was a major success in more ways than one. Under the multinational flag, the USN successfully demonstrated its commitment towards the region and proved that it wields formidable influence and ability to build a strong coalition against potential threats to the rules-based international order. The two SINKEX granted a rare opportunity to our allies and partners to test their weapons on warships that are in working condition. Also, both the USN and USAF were able to test their unmanned systems during a large-scale multinational exercise. Furthermore, the participating forces learned the similarities and differences in conducting multinational joint operations. Lastly, several ‘unplanned’ events provided valuable opportunities for the international armada to test their skills. As the theme of this year’s exercise envisions, the Navy successfully led the participants that are indeed not only “capable,” but also “adaptive partners” that successfully completed their missions during the both planned and unplanned events.
Andrew Park is a senior analyst at the Center for Maritime Strategy.
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.
Center for Maritime Strategy
By Andrew I. Park
Coalition Building
The Indo-Pacific theater is predominantly a maritime domain that covers 52 percent of the Earth’s surface, from North Pole to South Pole, and from Hollywood to Bollywood. In such a geographically expansive area of responsibility lies the most contested geopolitical hotspots, including the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and East China Sea. As China’s recent North Korea-style missile provocation in response to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan demonstrates, China continues to pursue expansionist and revisionist policies that jeopardize the national security interests of not only the United States but also that of numerous allies and partner nations.
Accordingly, the Navy must be commended for hosting 26 like-minded nations that abide by the rules-based international order. In total, 38 surface ships, 4 submarines, 9 national land forces, 30+ unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel came together under the leadership of the U.S. Navy – against the backdrop of increasing threat from China. Among these nations, many have suffered from territorial and economic infringement perpetrated by China. Considering that the previous exercise in 2020 was downscaled to one-third of its usual size due to the pandemic, the Navy’s commitment and ability to bring the exercise back to full strength makes this year’s RIMPAC more impactful.
Although RIMPAC is not oriented against any particular nation-state or situation, it is intended to “demonstrate the solidarity of all of its participants to the international rules-based order and the principles of sovereignty, of freedom of the seas, and of the United Nations Convention of the Law of Sea, and against what otherwise would be expansionist activities on states that would revise that agreed-upon international rules-based order.” Hence, the U.S. Navy’s investment of enormous time and resources to practice and engage with allies and partners sends a clear message to an ‘unspecified actor,’ as the Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Paparo stated.
Capability Testing
During the exercise, the Navy tested the hybrid manned-unmanned team concept that is critical to the future of naval technology. As the Navy hopes to test the ability of unmanned surface vehicles (USV) to augment manned vessels with additional sensing or weapons capabilities, the new command for USV, USV Division (USVDIV) One, dispatched four USVs to RIMPAC. Among the four, Sea Hunter and Seahawk were controlled by crews embarked aboard their respective destroyers, whereas Nomad and Ranger were controlled by crews at an operations center in San Diego. Although the Navy is still collecting and analyzing data from the USVs’ operations, RIMPAC served as a valuable testing ground for the future concept of operations, which envisions one manned surface vehicle controlling multiple USVs. Not everything went in accordance with the plan, however, as one of the ‘synced’ destroyers had to drop out of the exercise for an unspecified reason. Ironically, this unexpected opportunity allowed the crews to test seamless transfer of the USV control from the destroyer to the shore-based operations center in San Diego.
The Navy is not the only one that benefited from testing unmanned systems during the exercise. The U.S. Air Force’s MQ-9A Reaper crews received the opportunity to learn how their system communicates with naval assets and operates in the maritime domain.
The most anticipated parts of the exercise, however, were the two live fire sinking exercises (SINKEX). As rare as it is for the U.S. military to conduct SINKEX, it is rarer for foreign forces to have the opportunity to test their own capabilities on a recently decommissioned warship. The first offering was the frigate USS Rodney M. Davis. USN F/A-18EA Super Hornets and USMC F-35C Lightning II fighters dropped paveway laser-guided bombs alongside ship-based anti-ship missile fire from Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Winnipeg as well as Royal Malaysian Navy Kasturi-class frigate KD Lekir. This was significant as it was the first time that the Royal Malaysian Navy fired outside of their territorial waters. USN maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft P-8 Poseidon also had a unique opportunity to be equipped with and launch an anti-ship Harpoon missile, providing a valuable data point to test its ability to conduct high-end missions, instead of just dropping sonobuoys. Surprisingly, even after being struck by these formidable weapon systems, the decommissioned warship remained afloat for a considerable amount of time. This draws a stark difference from the sinking of Moskva – even in the absence of trained crews to control damage, thanks to the absence of combustibles and sealed compartments.
The second SINKEX was conducted on a decommissioned Austin-class amphibious transporter dock USS Denver, providing an opportunity for U.S. and Japanese military to test multi-domain capabilities. From land, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force fired Type 12 anti-ship missiles and U.S. Army launched guided rockets from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. From the air, USN F/A-18F Super Hornets of Fighter Squadron 41 shot a long-range anti-ship missile, USMC F/A-18 C/D Hornets of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 and Marine Air-Ground Task Force 7 fired cruise missile, air-to-ground anti-radiation missiles, and Joint Direct Attack Munition guided bombs, and U.S. Army’s AH-64 Apache helicopters fired air-to-ground Hellfire missiles, rockets, and 30mm guns. From the sea, USN guided-missile destroyer USS Chaffee shot Mark 45 five-inch gun.
Interoperability & Interchangeability
The USN values interoperability with partners and allies and therefore shared its accumulated experiences and advanced capabilities. Accordingly, participating forces including Australian and New Zealand navies dispatched refueling and replenishments ships to practice the necessary skills. The Mexican navy also learned how to conduct refueling at sea. In the air, USN’s P-8 Poseidon and Royal Canadian AF CP-140 Aurora drilled together to learn how they perform in sync. Finally, the Hawaii-based USMC squadron trained on an Australian amphibious carrier HMAS Canberra L02.
The multinational armada conducted not only warfighting techniques but also humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions. Under a simulated mass rescue operation exercise, Australian, Japanese, South Korean navies joined the USN, U.S. Army, and U.S. Coast Guard to conduct complex operations: 1) USCG Cutter William Hart played a distressed fishing vessel; 2) JSDF JS Izumo reported to USCG Rescue Coordination Center; 3) USCG Cutter Midgett joined the search and launched an embarked USN MH-60R helicopter for search and rescue missions; 4) U.S. Army helicopters from the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade landed on Izumo and transported the patients to amphibious assault ship USS Essex; 5) aboard Essex, 80 medical personnel of Australia, USN, U.S. Army in addition to 5 South Korean and 2 USN chaplains providing necessary medical and religious support.
The participants were given an additional opportunity to conduct a multinational and joint rescue operation, during an actual fire on a Peruvian Corvette, Guise. The two injured Peruvian sailors were evacuated by French helicopter dispatched by FS Prairial and were transported to USCG Cutter Midgett first, then to USS Abraham Lincoln, and then to shore at a Honolulu hospital to receive treatment.
Lessons Learned
Given that China and other opponents of the rules-based international order are behaving increasingly assertively by conducting missile provocations and infringing on sovereign territories in the Indo-Pacific, the Navy’s role in the vast maritime domain is more critical than ever. Hence, this year’s RIMPAC was a major success in more ways than one. Under the multinational flag, the USN successfully demonstrated its commitment towards the region and proved that it wields formidable influence and ability to build a strong coalition against potential threats to the rules-based international order. The two SINKEX granted a rare opportunity to our allies and partners to test their weapons on warships that are in working condition. Also, both the USN and USAF were able to test their unmanned systems during a large-scale multinational exercise. Furthermore, the participating forces learned the similarities and differences in conducting multinational joint operations. Lastly, several ‘unplanned’ events provided valuable opportunities for the international armada to test their skills. As the theme of this year’s exercise envisions, the Navy successfully led the participants that are indeed not only “capable,” but also “adaptive partners” that successfully completed their missions during the both planned and unplanned events.
Andrew Park is a senior analyst at the Center for Maritime Strategy.
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.