Four Canadian warships, two Halifax-class frigates and two Kingston-class coastal defense vessels, departed Esquimalt Harbour June 13 to participate in exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), the world’s largest international maritime exercise.
HMCS Calgary, HMCS Vancouver, HMCS Saskatoon and HMCS Yellowknife, with some 580 sailors overall will be participating in exercises in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California from June 30 to August 4.
The frigates will test weapons systems and upgrades to their equipment. RIMPAC will allow them to test electronic countermeasures designed to better protect sailors and warships operating in war zones, and fire Evolved Sea Sparrow and Harpoon missiles as well as heavyweight torpedoes.
The Kingston-class warships HMCS Saskatoon and Yellowknife will conduct coastal operations with other navies and diving units. They will also carry out testing and exercises using mine countermeasure equipment.
“Participation in RIMPAC allows the Royal Canadian Navy to work together with our partner nations while providing unique training opportunities for our sailors to maintain and enhance operational readiness. These opportunities allow our sailors to continue to develop and deepen partnerships with countries from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond,” Commodore Jeff Zwick , Commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific, said.