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| The US Navy's Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) in RIMPAC 2022 |
International Military - Rim of the Pacific or abbreviated as RIMPAC is the largest naval exercise in the world which is participated by many countries. A total of 26 countries have started the 28th edition of the biennial multinational maritime exercise RIMPAC 2022.
The exercise began on June 29 around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, and will end on August 4. The roughly month-long exercise was led by the US and involved 28 surface ships, 30 unmanned systems, 9 national ground forces, 4 submarines and about 170 aircraft.
As explained by the US Navy (Navy), the theme raised at RIMPAC 2022 is "Capable (capable), Adaptive (adaptive), Partners (partners)".
During the exercise, approximately 25,000 thousand personnel from participating countries will operate together and use various capabilities to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
The range of exercises includes anti-submarine, missile, cannon, air defense, counter-piracy, mine clearance, amphibious, diving, rescue operations, and explosive weapons disposal operations. In addition, this year's edition of RIMPAC also introduces space and cyber operations for all participating countries.
Four USV Prototypes Participate in RIMPAC 2022
One of the interesting things about RIMPAC in 2022 this time is the involvement of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV). The USV's USV first appeared simultaneously on one occasion.
Quoted from Naval News, the four unmanned ships are the Seahawk, Sea Hunter, Nomad, and Ranger. The presence of these USVs will provide war capabilities and extend the reach of the US manned fleet with less risk to warfighters.
The mission of the four unmanned systems is “to work side-by-side with trainees, carry payloads, provide intelligence, and most importantly, collect data in real-world environments to determine how they will function in larger fleets,” explains Naval News.
It is known that the USV is part of PMS 406. PMS 406 itself is a program office within the Program Executive Office, Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) under the auspices of RIMPAC.
Scot Searles, Navy Captain and Program Manager of the Unmanned Maritime Systems (PMS 406) program office told navaltoday.com.
The deployment of both manned and unmanned systems during this RIMPAC program will include civilian service and mission support from various organizations across the country.
Lastly, Brian Fitzpatrick, Assistant Manager of PMS 406 principal program said, “RIMPAC is a great opportunity to not only show that we can develop this ship, but we also demonstrate the Navy's commitment to both unmanned and manned teams.
During RIMPAC 2022, the types of exercises include firing cannon, missile, anti-submarine, air defense, amphibious, counter-piracy, mine clearance, disposal of explosive weapons, and dive operations.