What Happened
Multinational Warfighting Exercise Serves As Primary Laboratory
The Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, which took place in and around the Hawaiian Islands, served as a vast test bed for cutting-edge American military tech. The exercise, which involved 30 nations and over 30,000 personnel, included approximately 40 experimentation initiatives as part of the Fleet Experimentation (FLEX) program. These experiments aimed to develop and test new technologies, improve interoperability, and expose the fleet to emerging capabilities. According to Breaking Defense, the exercise was the premier venue for fleet experimentation and provided a real-world operational environment for participating forces to develop and innovate technologies.