 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Curtains will fall on the Rim of the Pacific 2016, the world’s largest international maritime exercise, on August 4.
Participants in drills that lasted over a month in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California included over 40 ships and submarines, over 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel from 26 nations, including India.
RIMPAC provided a unique training opportunity that helped participants foster and sustain cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans.
Scroll below to see glimpses of the 25th exercise in the RIMPAC series that began in 1971.
Indian Navy Shivalik-class stealth frigate INS Satpura (F48) steams in close formation as one of 40 ships and submarines representing 13 international partner nations during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ace Rheaume/US Navy
Forty ships and submarines representing 13 international partner nations steam in close formation during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kenneth Rodriguez Santiago/US Navy
Indian Navy Lt Commander Limaye Kutuhal, from Pune, Maharashtra, is currently a Surface Warfare and Communications officer aboard the Indian Navy Shivalik-class stealth frigate INS Satpura. He joined the Navy as a cadet at the age of 17. Kutuhal spent three years at the Naval Academy, followed by one year of sea training before becoming a commissioning officer in 2008. This was Kutuhal's first time participating in RIMPAC, and he made the most of the time he had in Hawaii with all the wonderful set of new people he met from all over the world. Photograph: US Navy
Members of the visit, board, search, and seizure team assigned to the guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay approach the Indian Navy Shivalik-class stealth frigate INS Satpura while conducting a VBSS exercise during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan J Batchelder/US Navy
Two US Army AH-64D Apache attack helicopters assigned to the 2-6 Cavalry Squadron, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade launch eight "fire and forget" AGM-114L Hellfire Air to Surface Missiles during a training exercise off the coast of Oahu as part of the Rim of the Pacific 2016. Exercise participants boosted their proficiency in tactics, targeting and live firing during a sinking exercise with the decommissioned Pearl Harbor frigate USS Crommelin. Photograph: Sgt Erin Sherwood/US Army
USS Coronado, an Independence-variant littoral combat ship, launches a Harpoon Block 1C missile for the first time during exercise Rim of the Pacific. Photograph: Lt Bryce Hadley/US Navy
An F-22 Raptor from the 199th Fighter Squadron and the active-duty 19th Fighter Squadron prepares to receive fuel from a KC-135R Stratotanker during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gregory A Harden II/US Navy
An MV-22 Osprey assigned to the "Greyhawks" of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 161 prepares to land aboard the amphibious assault ship USS America. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Demetrius Kennon/US Navy
Australian and Chinese navy divers conduct a multinational salvage dive exercise from Chinese Navy submarine rescue ship Changdao (867) during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Han Fuxiao/Chinese Navy
Snipers, Pathfinders and Reconnaissance members, from 2e Bataillon Royal 22e Regiment, conduct insertion and extraction by helicopter training with a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-147F Chinook helicopter during RIMPAC 2016 on Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California. Photograph: Sgt Marc-Andre Gaudreault/Flickr.
An MV-22 Osprey, assigned to the "White Knights" of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 165 and embarked on board the amphibious assault ship USS America, conducts flight operations near the island of Hawaii. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ryan Riley/US Navy
A CH-53E Super Stallion cargo helicopter assigned to Heavy Marine Helicopter Squadron 463 transports a supply container from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) to the island of Hawaii. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kyle Goldberg/US Navy
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force guided missile destroyer JS Chokai (DDG-176) launches a missile as part of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2016. Photograph: Ryo Tanaka/Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Canadian army soldiers advance into a trench during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Sgt Marc-Andre Gaudreault/Canadian Forces Combat Camera
US Marines participate in an amphibious assault exercise during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Katarzyna Kobiljak/US Navy
US Marines participate in an amphibious assault exercise during Rim of the Pacific. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Katarzyna Kobiljak/US Navy
Three MV-22 Ospreys from US Marines 3rd Battalion 3rd Regiment lift off from Pacific Missile Range Facility during a joint exercise with three other countries (South Korea, Australia, and Malaysia) as part of Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Omar Powell/US Navy
Vice Adm Nora Tyson, commander of US 3rd Fleet, addresses Indian Navy officers after a Task Force Energy and Environment training symposium held at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Conference Centre on Ford Island. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class K Cecelia Engrums/US Navy
Littoral combat ship USS Coronado steams in close formation as one of 40 ships and submarines representing 13 international partner nations during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ace Rheaume/US Navy
A US Marine Corps KC-130J Hercules and two CH-53E Super Stallions conduct a refueling exercise during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Katarzyna Kobiljak/US Navy
Chinese Navy multirole frigate Hengshui fires its main gun against a towed target while conducting a live-fire exercise, during Rim of the Pacific 2016. Photograph: Senior Capt Liu Wenping/Chinese Navy