What to expect from RIMPAC 2024, the largest international maritime exercise

[Caption] Vice Adm. John Wade, Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet and Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024 Combined Task Force (CTF) Commander, center, and task force leadership take questions during the opening press conference for RIMPAC 2024 held at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on June 27, 2024.

Twenty-nine countries and over 25,000 military personnel are coming together for the world’s largest maritime military exercise.

The Rim of the Pacific exercise, better known as RIMPAC, happens every two years in Hawaiʻi. This year, it will involve 40 ships, three submarines and over 150 aircraft.

Vice Adm. John Wade, who is leading the exercise, outlined the activities that will be taking place over the next few weeks. "We're increasing complexity each and every day in all domains, in the air, on and below the sea, and on the ground," he said.

The Conversation Organizations call on US military to cancel 2024 RIMPAC games Listen -- 5:21

"We're going to be conducting a range of activities from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to amphibious rehearsals, and we will also be conducting some live fire events, and in this phase will also be conducting experimentation, approximately 30 events which will test new capabilities or use existing capabilities in different ways."

This year’s RIMPAC will host its largest humanitarian aid and disaster relief exercise, which will include the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency.

Wade previously was the commander of the joint task force that oversaw the removal of the fuel from the Navy’s Red Hill facility.

The Conversation US Navy officer reflects on 30th anniversary of women serving on combat ships Listen -- 12:42

That connection to Hawaiʻi, he said, is one of the reasons why Wade made environmental stewardship a priority -- especially when transferring fuel between ships.

"Clearly with hazardous materials, especially in the backdrop of Hawaiʻi and what has happened here with the environment we want to make sure that we do it right, we're good stewards and we're following procedures," he said.

"It's about professionalism, being excellent and being prepared for what we're doing."

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Ashley Mizuo Ashley Mizuo is the government reporter for Hawaiʻi Public Radio. Contact her at amizuo@hawaiipublicradio.org

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RIMPAC 1996:

Japanese Navy Shoots Down U.S. Military Jet By Mistake — Crew Of Whidbey-Based Plane OK
Jun 4, 1996
Ben Dipietro
AP

HONOLULU - A Japanese destroyer accidentally shot down a U.S. attack bomber during joint military exercises off Hawaii. The jet’s two American crew members ejected safely and were rescued in good condition.

Japan quickly apologized for the accident, which happened at 10:15 (PST) last night as the U.S. Navy A-6E Intruder was towing a gunnery target.

The Japanese vessel Yuugiri fired at the target but hit the plane, which crashed in the Pacific.

Japan said the accident occurred 1,550 miles west of Hawaii, or about 730 miles southwest of the Midway Islands, the scene of a major naval battle between the United States and Japan during World War II.

The pilot, Lt. Cmdr. William Royster of Kansas City, Mo., and bombardier-navigator, Lt. Keith Douglas of Birmingham, Ala., were rescued by the Yuugiri.

The A-6 squadron trained at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, and for administrative purposes, Whidbey is its home port, said a spokesman for the Naval Air Station. The squadron, however, is based on the carrier USS Independence, which operates out of Atsugi, Japan.

A helicopter took the men to the Independence for treatment. Royster had facial lacerations and was listed in good condition; Douglas was treated for abrasions and returned to duty, said Navy Lt. Jeff Alderson.

The Japanese Defense Agency apologized to the U.S. military and decided to halt shooting practice using live ammunition, said spokesman Tomohide Matsumura.

President Clinton “accepts the gracious expression of regret by the Japanese government,” White House spokesman Mike McCurry said.

The 450-foot Yuugiri, which carries a crew of about 200, was using a 20mm weapons system capable of firing bursts of 3,000 rounds per minute, said Tensuke Kobayashi, a Japanese navy official.

The gun, called a Close-in Weapons System, is made by General Dynamics of Pomona, Calif., and is designed to shoot down a missile.

Kobayashi said mechanical trouble in the weapons system may have caused the accident.

Japan Defense Agency official Tsutomu Sugiyama said eight Japanese escort vessels, a supply ship, flying corps, eight submarine chasers and one submarine were participating in the month-long exercises, which began May 22.

The annual maneuvers - called RIMPAC, for Rim of the Pacific - were launched by Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada in 1971. New Zealand later withdrew from the group; Japan has been participating since 1980.

This is the first such accident involving Japan since it began participating in the RIMPAC exercises, Kobayashi said.

In the exercise, the participants are divided into teams that conduct mock warfare. One team stages a mock defense of Hawaii while the other tries to capture it.

Some 1,900 Japanese sailors and 160 air force members are participating.

Toshinori Yanagiya, a senior Defense Ministry official in charge of military training, said the A-6E was towing the target at the end of a 100-yard-long cable. An aircraft typically tows a hollowed-out device made of radar reflective material as much as three miles behind it.

The RIMPAC maneuvers were expected to continue despite the incident, according to a U.S. Navy spokesman in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

It was the second time in less than eight months that Japan has mistakenly shot down a friendly aircraft. Last November, a Japanese F-15 fighter shot down another Japanese F-15 training in the Sea of Japan when an armed air-to-air Sidewinder missile accidentally went off.

Information from Reuters is included in this report.

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