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Two Damen Naval-built SIGMAs sailed during this year’s 28th edition of the RIMPAC exercise: the Indonesian KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai and the Mexican ARM Benito Juárez. The Rim of the Pacific Exercise is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise and is held every two years. The exercise concluded on 4 August after more than a month of realistic combined operations training in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.
Twenty-six nations, 38 surface ships, three submarines, nine national land forces, more than 30 unmanned systems, about 170 aircraft and more than 25,000 personnel participated in the 28th edition held from 29 June to 4 August.
ARM Benito Juárez departs Pearl Harbor to begin the at-sea phase of RIMPAC 2022.
In a press release, RIMPAC 2022 Combined Task Force Commander, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Michael Boyle said the return to a full-scale exercise, with multiple exercise firsts, was a success in all domains. “By coming together here on a large scale as capable, flexible partners, we are making a statement about our commitment to good cooperation and the interrelationships that are so important in ensuring the safety of both international shipping lanes and interconnected oceans.”
Participating in this year’s exercise were units and personnel from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Republic of Korea, Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Corvette KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda (367) and the Italian frigate Virginio Fasan (F 591) took part in the first EU-Indonesia naval exercise in the Arabian Sea.
Two other Indonesian ships were also recently involved in major international exercises. In early August, the Diponegoro-class corvette KRI French Kaisiepo (368) participated in the sea phase of the Garuda Shield 2022 exercise in the Natuna Sea. Littoral combat ship USS Charleston (LCS 18) and US Navy amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD 20) joined the Indonesian Navy ships at sea to develop mutual capabilities to jointly address maritime security issues.
Besides the French Kaisiepo, the Bung Tomo-class corvettes KRI Bung Tomo (357) and KRI John Lie (358) and the Makassar-class landing platform dock KRI Makassar (590) also participated, as did the Republic of Singapore Navy’s stealth frigate RSS Supreme (73) and the Endurance-class landing platform dock RSS Resolution (208).
Corvette KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda participated in the first EU-Indonesia naval exercise in the Arabian Sea on 14-15 August. The exercise with the Indonesian ship and the Italian frigate Virginio Fasan was based on the scenario of an anti-piracy operation and included helicopter landings back and forth between the ships, complex tactical exercises at sea, boarding suspect ships and refuelling at sea.