The Navy's latest EGIS guided-missile destroyer Jeongjo the Great (8,200-ton class) will depart on the 1st to take part in the U.S.-led multinational maritime exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) combined exercise.
According to the Navy, Jeongjo the Great will sail from a naval base to Hawaii on the day and participate in RIMPAC from the end of this month through July. This is the first time Jeongjo the Great is taking part in RIMPAC since it was commissioned in Dec. 2024. Along with Jeongjo the Great, the 3,000-ton class submarine Dosan Ahn Changho class (KSS-III) Submarine, a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, the 4,900-ton class landing ship Cheonjabong, and the 3,100-ton class frigate Daejeon, as well as more than 700 Navy and Marine Corps personnel, will participate.
Marking its 30th iteration this year, RIMPAC is a multinational exercise aimed at protecting sea lines of communication among Pacific Rim countries, strengthening joint responses to maritime threats, and improving the interoperability and operational capabilities of combined forces. Hosted by the U.S. 3rd Fleet every two years, this year's exercise will include 31 countries. The Korea Navy has participated since 1990, and this year marks its 19th time.
During this exercise, Kim In-ho, commander of the Navy's Mobile Fleet Command (rear admiral) and the Republic of Korea Navy's RIMPAC task force commander, will for the first time carry out the mission of Combined Force Maritime Component Commander (CFMCC). A country other than the United States performing the CFMCC mission is the fourth time in history and the first among Asian nations. The CFMCC leads combined naval forces, including a carrier strike group, and plans and executes maritime operations.
Kim said, "The Korea Navy successfully carried out the deputy commander mission of the Combined Force Maritime Component Command in the 2024 exercise, and taking on the commander mission for the first time this time means a leap from participant to lead nation," adding, "we will fully demonstrate the capabilities of the Republic of Korea Navy and elevate the stature of the 'elite Navy that protects the people' on the world stage."