Philippine Navy's brand new frigate Jose Rizal departs for RIMPAC exercise in Hawaii.

The Philippine Navy (PN) held a simple send-off ceremony at Alava Wharf, SBMA, Zambales on July 29, 2020, for its contingent that will participate in the world’s premier and largest joint and combined naval exercise dubbed as Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2020 (RIMPAC20) in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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Send-off ceremony at Alava Wharf, SBMA, Zambales on July 29, 2020 for its contingent that will participate in the world’s premier and largest joint and combined naval exercise dubbed as Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2020 (RIMPAC20) in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Picture source: Philippine Navy)

The participating Naval Task Group (NTG) 80.5 is onboard the newly-commissioned BRP Jose Rizal (FF150) with an embarked AW109 naval helicopter. NTG 80.5 is led by FF150's commanding officer, Capt. Jerry Garrido Jr. as the concurrent contingent commander, and complemented by the surface, services and support components.

BRP Jose Rizal is the PN's first warship in the inventory that is equipped with multi-dimensional warfare capabilities. Through RIMPAC20, our Navy will be able to simulate and test the capabilities of this newly acquired platform. This will provide FF150 a venue to test the proficiency of personnel as they integrate in a wider range of operations.

Rimpac 2019. (Picture source: US Navy)

RIMPAC exercise will run from August 17 to 31 2020. It is a United States-led naval exercise hosted by the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet and held biennially. It is geared towards building trust and partnership with other navies, understanding the capabilities of other navies and enhancing interoperability.

RIMPAC 2020 will involve 23 ships, including a submarine, and aircraft. Participating countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, France, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and the United States.