The 2024 Rim of the Pacific Exercise took place from June 27 to August 1 in the waters around Hawaii, with participation from 40 ships, 3 submarines, over 150 aircraft, and more than 25,000 military personnel from 29 countries, making it the largest-scale exercise in history.
The highlight of the exercise was the Sink Exercise (SINKEX), conducted north of the island of Kauai in Hawaii, where participating ships and aircraft launched missiles, bombs, and rockets at target ships to familiarize themselves with weapon operations and performance. In this SINKEX, two large naval vessels were used as targets to simulate the impact of modern weapons on amphibious landing forces. The USS Dubuque was sunk on July 11, followed by the USS Tarawa, an amphibious assault ship, on July 19, weighing over 40,000 tons.
With advancements in sensors and defense capabilities, it has become increasingly difficult for harpoon missiles to penetrate modern naval vessels’ air defense networks. The U.S. has started to introduce NSM anti-ship missiles for its surface ships, while the Navy and Air Force have introduced the AGM-158C long-range anti-ship missile.
The AGM-158C, also known as LRASM, is a subsonic anti-ship missile based on the stealth-designed AGM-158B missile. The AGM-158C surpasses the majority of anti-ship missiles in terms of range, stealth capabilities, and performance.
The NSM anti-ship missile, produced through cooperation between the U.S. Raytheon company and Norway’s Kongsberg company, is known for its stealth characteristics. It features a nearly hexagonal prism aerodynamic design, extensive use of composite materials, an airframe and intake coated with absorbent materials, providing excellent stealth performance.
The Storm Shadow cruise missile, jointly produced by the UK and France, adopts a stealth design and uses an infrared imaging guidance head, enhancing its penetration capability. The performance of Storm Shadow is evident in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where the missile managed to hit the Black Sea Fleet headquarters despite challenges from Russian air defense systems.
In this year’s SINKEX, a U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber successfully dropped a GPS-guided GBU-31 bomb that hit the target ship. The use of the B-2 stealth bomber in the attack was a highlight. Previously in “Rapid Sinking” tests, GBU-31 bombs were dropped by F-15E fighters, but this time, a stealth bomber was utilized, indicating the U.S. military’s future strategy of conducting covert sinking operations to catch opponents off guard. The GBU-31 bomb can also be carried inside the F-35’s internal bomb bay, a capability likely for future B-21 bombers.
During the RIMPAC exercise, the long-range air-to-air missile AIM-174B made its first official appearance. An F/A-18E Super Hornet carrier-based aircraft was seen carrying the AIM-174B missile for the first time during takeoff and landing from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier. The AIM-174B is a new large air-to-air weapon based on the Standard 6 ship-launched missile, marking the first sighting of this missile in a live-fire condition on an aircraft carrier and its debut in a multinational exercise.
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