The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the US Navy have wrapped up the third edition of the bilateral Exercise Pacific Griffin.
The exercise was held in the waters off Guam from 22 June to 7 July 2021.
The RSN’s Formidable-class frigates RSS Tenacious and RSS Stalwart, and the Independence-class littoral mission vessel RSS Fearless, exercised alongside US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Benfold, auxiliary ship USNS Amelia Earhart and a Los Angeles-class submarine, in a series of naval serials for the air, surface and underwater domains.
RSN naval divers and their USN counterparts also conducted maritime counter-terrorism training and a combined boarding of a vessel of interest, simulated by RSN’s training ship MV Avatar. In addition, the RSN fired torpedoes and conducted an Aster anti-air missile firing.
Furthermore, the drill saw the participation of RSAF fighters, who were rotationally deployed to Guam for unilateral training from May to Jul 2021. Exercising together, the RSN and RSAF executed a successfully coordinated missile firing against a surface target. The RSN and RSAF also conducted other integrated missions in support of maritime operations during the exercise, strengthening the sea-air integration between the services.
“Exercise Pacific Griffin is an important part of a series of regular bilateral interactions with our US counterparts. We always look forward to training with the USN as it provides us the opportunity to conduct exercises to hone our capabilities and enhance our cooperation,” Colonel Ooi Tjin Kai , RSN’s Deputy Fleet Commander and the exercise task force commander, commented.
“Exercises like Pacific Griffin emphasise cooperation while building competencies in a complex and technologically-advanced training environment. This exercise demonstrates the trust and expertise we have built over the years with the RSN through increasingly complex and integrated training and live fire events,” Captain Chase Sargeant , USN’s Commander Task Force 71, said.
First conducted in 2017, Exercise Pacific Griffin highlights the strong navy-to-navy relations between Singapore and the US, as well as the long-standing bilateral defence relations between both countries.