Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) is a biennial international military exercise hosted by the Commander of the United States Navy’s 3rd Fleet.
RIMPAC aims to be the premier joint combined maritime exercise and enables Australia to strengthen international partnerships, enhance interoperability and improve readiness for a wide range of potential operations.
Rim of the Pacific 2024
In 2024, approximately 320 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel completed the world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC.
RIMPAC 2024 was held across training areas in and around the Hawaiian Islands from 27 June to 1 August 2024. The 29th iteration of the exercise included 25,000 personnel from 29 participating nations working together under the theme 'Partners: Integrated and Prepared'.
The ADF contribution included:
- Royal Australian Navy Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyer HMAS Sydney
- Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
RIMPAC 24 was significant for HMAS Sydney, with the vessel successfully firing a Naval Strike Missile for the first time at the ex-USS Tarawa during a Sinking Exercise. The P-8A from 11 Squadron also conducted a number of flights with other nations and successfully launched torpedoes in a simulated submarine hunting activity known as a 'CASEX'.
ADF personnel worked closely with peers and partners in multi-national teams, including in the Combined Air Operations Command and embarked in the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Surface Combatant Command.
Imagery is available from the Defence Imagery website RIMPAC 2024 gallery.