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Rimpac News

26 Jan 2023

3D Printing: Navy Builds Up Additive Manufacturing on Ships

Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) onloads a 3D printer during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, July 8, 2022.  
U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ace Rheaume

The U.S. Navy has long valued the potential of additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D Printing.AM refers to the depositing of material layer by layer to create an object. For the Navy, it’s not practical to carry every replacement part for every system on a ship, and it can be difficult to forecast if or when parts will fail. AM provides a flexible source of supply in being able to make parts instead of ordering them and waiting for them to arrive, especially for warships at the far end of the supply chain.

28 Dec 2022

Ex-USS Denver Served Until Sunk

Amphibious transport dock ship USS Denver (LPD 9) operates in the Philippine Sea in 2012. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Lacordrick Wilson/Released)

Explosive charges aboard the ship enabled battle damage assessment (BDA) teams to respond to actual damageThe former Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Denver (LPD 9) was sunk in a blaze of glory as a target ship during the recent Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2022. The 9,600-ton, 561-foot Denver, which was commissioned in 1968 and served until being retired in 2014, had been stored with other inactive ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before being sunk about 50 miles north of Kauai in about 15…

21 Nov 2022

The Amazon Model in Global Naval Deterrence

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) launches a Standard Missile (SM) 2 during a live-fire missile exercise as part of Pacific Vanguard (PV) 22 while operating in the Philippine Sea. PV22 is an exercise with a focus on interoperability and the advanced training and integration of allied maritime forces. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Greg Johnson)

IMO announced that the Indian Ocean High Risk Area (HRA) will be removed on 01 Jan 2023. It was a rare but really reassuring example that international cooperation can be successful.Meanwhile at the time of this writing, the war in Ukraine carries on. Ukranian resistance has been bolstered by very significant western democracy support in the form of weapons supply that have done a great job of stopping Russia in its tracks. However, the Ukranian Crisis shows it is extremely difficult…

05 Aug 2022

RIMPAC Naval Exercise Brings Together 'Capable Adaptive Partners' from 28 Nations

Republic of Korea Marine Corps Amphibious Assault Vehicles cover and conceal during an amphibious raid for a multinational littoral operations exercise as part of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, August 1, 2022. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Melanye Martinez)

The 2022 biennial, multi-national Rim of the Pacific's (RIMPAC) exercise has come to a close.This year’s exercise with the theme of “Capable Adaptive Partners,” featured 26 participating nations and 38 surface ships, three submarines, more than 30 uncrewed systems, approximately 170 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel.RIMPAC 2022 featured a wide range of capabilities--projecting the inherent flexibility of maritime forces and helping to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, and took place in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, June 29 to Aug.

17 Dec 2020

US Navy Helps Small Companies Engage with Experimentation

Experimentation during exercises help evaluate the suitability for new technology into tactical operations. In this photo, an unmanned aerial vehicle launches from a tactical transport vehicle during the Ship-to-Shore Maneuver Exploration and Experimentation Advanced Naval Technology Exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The exercise brought industry, academia and Navy researchers together to demonstrate emerging technology and engineering innovations. (U.S. Navy photo by Joh

The United States' Department of Navy (DoN) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Experimentation Cell (DoN SEC) connects SBIR innovators with the DoN experimentation community to deliver innovative solutions for the warfighter.“Our mission is to support the SBIR community from the first idea to experiment execution by offering beginning-to-end facilitation, mentoring, and training in all aspects of experimentation,” said Scott Bartlett, the DoN SEC program manager,Naval experimentation can validate or inform concepts of operations…

17 Sep 2020

Fit for Fight: Navies challenged by COVID at sea, ashore

Fit for the COVID Fight: Sailors stand in ranks before manning the rails of Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Photos: U.S. Navy Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Christian Huntington

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, navies adjusted how they operate at home and while deployed, to keep their forces ready for any missions as they keep their Sailors, families, communities, as well as allies and partners safe from the coronavirus.Navies have taken a number of prudent preventative measures to limit outbreaks, mitigate cases of infection and reduce the community spread of the virus.Speaking during his May 29 “On The Horizon: Navigating the European and African Theaters” podcast, Admiral James G. Foggo III, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa, said The U.S.

23 Apr 2019

World Navy Report: Peru

The Peruvian navy maritime patrol boat BAP Ferre (PM 211) arrives at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in preparation for Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Holly L. Herline)

Navies operate on a spectrum between deterrence and defense, to include offensive operation, support of foreign policy, and power projection to civil affair and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Many have constabulary responsibilities, and it could be argued that, with the exception of the largest navies, most are more like a coast guard than a military force in their normal responsibilities.Every Navy is different. Yes, they all share similar challenges of acquisition…

30 Jul 2018

Naval and Maritime Experts Conduct Joint Training

Royal Australian navy sailors act as safety observers as a Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force sailor jumps from an MH-53E Sea Dragon, attached to Mine Countermeasures Squadron 14, as part of aerial mine disposal training during the Southern California portion of the Rim of the Pacific 2016 Exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Curtis D. Spencer)

Naval and merchant maritime experts partnered together to deliver enhanced maritime domain awareness (MDA) for the first time in a Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in 2018.MDA is the ability to maintain situational awareness of seagoing vessel movements, and is used to assess the normal patterns of life on major trade routes. Their interaction provided an adaptive capability that is an important part of maritime security operations.This capability is a critical supporting element in the effort to maintain freedom of navigation…

23 Sep 2017

Australian Navy Commissions Hobart (II) – One in a Million

Royal Australian Navy will commission the first of three new destroyers today (On 23 September). In continuing our reflective stories of previous ships that have carried the name HMAS Hobart, this is the story of Hobart (II). The second ship to bear the name Hobart was one of three Perth class guided missile destroyers built in the United States for the Royal Australian Navy. She was commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 18 December 1965 under the command of Captain Guy Griffiths. Following sea trials and exercises in the United States and Canadian waters, Hobart arrived in her namesake city on 1 September 1966. She berthed in her home-port of Sydney for the first time on 7 September 1966.

20 Jun 2017

The U.S and Philippine Navies Hold Maritime Drill

The U.S. and Philippine navies will participate in the Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama June 19-25 in the vicinity of Cebu. Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama is designed to enhance the complexity and diversity of training opportunities, while strengthening the longstanding alliance between the U.S. and the Republic of the Philippines. The exercise will focus on mutual security concerns that affect the Philippines including piracy and sea smuggling, maritime domain awareness and patrol, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness. "The training we will perform over the next week will provide excellent opportunities to deepen our long-time maritime partnership with the Philippine Navy," said Rear Adm. Don Gabrielson, commander, Task Force 73.

03 Apr 2017

HMAS Darwin Farewells the West

The call of 'last line!' meant a little more than normal as HMAS Darwin slipped from the wharf at Fleet Base West and set sail for Sydney recently. It signalled the end of the warship's long association with the west coast of Australia, unlikely to return before she decommissions at the end of the year. The Adelaide class frigate called Western Australia home for almost 13 years from 18 December 1993, before being relocated to Fleet Base East on 21 April 2006. Darwin's Maritime Logistics Officer, Lieutenant Commander Chris Duke, served aboard the warship during the change of home port and the final visit to Fleet Base West. "This is the third time I have been posted to Darwin. In 1993 I was an Able Seaman Writer, conducting personnel management and administration functions," he said.

16 Nov 2016

Amphibious Operations a Joint Effort

Staff from Brisbane-based 1st Division/Deployable Joint Force Headquarters joined other Defence representatives for an amphibious force staff exercise in Townsville in October. Conducted by the Amphibious Task Group, the exercise provided an opportunity for personnel representing the key enablers of Australia’s amphibious capability to discuss the future. Joining in were personnel from HMA Ships Canberra, Adelaide and Choules, Army's Forces Command and 3rd Brigade, Director General – Land, Maritime Operations, 5th Aviation Regiment and Combat Training Centre. Colonel Terence Dunne, United States Marine Corps, who is posted to the Joint Force Headquarters and in charge of amphibious capability and development…

20 Oct 2016

Overcoming the Propeller Supply Bottleneck

Image: Hydrocomp

Hydrocomp’s ProCad facilitates in-house Process Control of Propeller Design and Manufacture. Maritime Tactical Systems Inc. (MARTAC) is a Florida-based company building next-generation unmanned vessels for military applications. In preparation for the “Rim of the Pacific” (RIMPAC) military exercises in Pearl Harbor this last July, MARTAC needed a new propeller design for their MANTAS series high-speed vessels. Unfortunately, their current supplier was not meeting delivery schedules for the high-quality surface-piercing propellers that they need…

03 Oct 2016

Choke Points are Flash Points

Aircraft assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 fly in formation above USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106) during an air-and-sea-power demonstration. Providing a ready force supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific, John C. Stennis is operating as part of the Great Green Fleet on a regularly scheduled 7th Fleet deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Tomas Compian)

The world is closely watching several contentious flash points that have potential to ignite. The behavior and rhetoric of China and Russia regarding vital shipping lanes in international waters have been alarming. Disputed sovereignty claims and efforts to enforce them have the maritime world on edge. China’s nine-dash line claims about owning the entire East and South China Sea have created a dilemma for themselves and the other nations in the region. The Philippines v. China case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague commenced on Jan.

29 Aug 2016

USS Freedom Suffers Casualty

USS Freedom (LCS 1) (Photo: U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Navy's first littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) experienced a casualty to one of its main propulsion diesel engines (MPDE) on July 11 reportedly caused by a leak from the attached seawater pump mechanical seal that resulted in seawater entering the engine lube oil system, according to the Navy. The ship’s crew addressed the leak, enabling Freedom to return to homeport July 13 on her own power for repairs on a separate, unrelated issue. While in port, the crew performed seawater contamination procedures.

17 Jul 2016

Biden Visits Stennis

Vice President Joe Biden visited the Sailors aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) July 14, while the ship and John C. Stennis Strike Group (JCSSG) were participating in the Rim of the Pacific maritime exercise. The visit, which occurred just one day before the six-month mark of their current deployment, gave Biden an opportunity to thank the crew, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, and embarked Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21 and strike group staffs, for the work they have done operating in the the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations and specifically the South China Sea. "I am humbled and I am honored to be here with you today," said Biden. Biden…

13 Apr 2016

US, India to Shore up Maritime Cooperation

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and  Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar agreed  to strengthen their cooperation on maritime security, as concerns grow in Washington over Beijing's growing military ambitions. Carter is in New Delhi to bolster a strategic relationship Washington considers crucial in the face of what it sees as China's rising assertiveness, particularly in the South China Sea. He and Parrikar visited the Indian Naval Base in Karwar and the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier. They also visited the USS Blue Ridge which was conducting a port call in Goa during the secretary’s visit. “Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the area of maritime security,” said a joint statement issued after Carter held talks with Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

26 Feb 2016

China's Warships to Join US-Hosted Naval Drills

China has confirmed it will send warships to join a major US-hosted naval drill this summer, even as tension between the world’s two largest economies mounts over the South China Sea, reports Reuters. The Naval exercise Rimpac (Rim of the Pacific ) is  the world's largest international maritime drill, held every two years in Hawaii in June and July. The U.S. and its allies have expressed growing concern over the Asian giant’s military buildup, as well as its increasingly assertive posture in the South China Sea. “Joining these military exercises will be beneficial to improving the Chinese navy’s ability to contend with non-traditional security threats,” Wu Qian, a spokesman of China’s Ministry of Defense, told a regular briefing.

11 Jan 2016

U.S. Questions Chinese Submarines on Anti-Piracy Missions

U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander, Admiral Scott Swift questioned the motive behind China deploying submarines for anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean, reports PTI. The comments come in the backdrop of India’s growing concerns over rapid expansion of Chinese maritime capabilities and creation of facilities in the Indian Ocean region to support its forces. “It’s hard for me as a maritime commander to understand how can a submarine support anti-piracy operations?”, he said. Admitting that a raising power like China would secure its assets and resources, he noted with concern that the issue was the "lack of transparency and intent" on the part of the China.

08 Apr 2015

USCG Makes Headway in Challenging Waters

A patrol boat manned by members of Port Security Unit 311 deployed to Joint Task Force-Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, escorts the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf as it sails into Naval Base Guantanamo Bay.  The Coast Guard Cutter Waesche conducts at-sea refueling operations.  The Alameda-based cutter is named in honor of former Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Russell Waesche.  (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Matthew Roache)

Day after day, the U.S. Coast Guard continues to conduct its 11 statutory missions with its limited resources. It is challenged to Invest in long-term operational capacity while continuing to carry out its daily missions. “We’re a small service, but as always, we do punch above our weight class,” said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft during the 2015 Surface Navy Association symposium in Arlington, Virginia. While the Coast Guard may have drifted off course with its ambitious and holistic Deepwater recapitalization effort…

25 Dec 2014

"Iron Nickel's" Last Voyage

USS Peleliu (LHA 5) returned to Naval Base San Diego Dec. 24 from a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific. Upon return, the ship will make preparations to decommission in March after 34 years of service, 17 deployments and more than a million miles transited, and as the last remaining Tarawa-class amphibious assault ship. During the ship's deployment Peleliu, its crew, Commander, Amphibious Squadron Three, Special Purpose Marine Task Force Three and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 21 participated in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014 as part of U.S. 3rd Fleet. Upon assignment to 7th Fleet, the ship embarked Commander, Amphibious Force Seventh Fleet…

22 Sep 2014

Navy, Other Agencies, Award Bio-refinery Contracts to 3 Firms

As part of a 2011 Presidential directive, the Departments of Navy, Energy, and Agriculture have announced that three companies have been awarded contracts to construct and commission biorefineries capable of producing "drop-in" biofuels to meet the transportation needs of the military and private sector, according to the Navy News Service. Made through the Department of Defense's (DOD) Defense Protection Act (DPA) of 1950, the awards support the Administration's goals to boost and diversify the domestic fuel supply base, make American warfighters less beholden to volatile oil markets, and strengthen national security. "The contracts being announced today will help expand the operational capability of our Navy and Marine Corps around the world," said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

01 Sep 2014

RIMPAC Exercise Puts LCS Through Paces

It was the middle of May, and the littoral combat ship Independence was operating out of San Diego, testing components of the mine warfare mission package. The mission is one that, except for several extended overhaul periods, has consumed much of the ship’s operating time since the class-leading vessel was commissioned in January 2010. Word then came down from the highest levels of US Navy leadership — Independence was going to Pearl Harbor to take part in the world’s largest naval exercise, Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC). The event, held every two years, was only weeks away from beginning. To get there on time, the LCS would have to rapidly switch gears — offloading the mine equipment…