Huge Armada Of Allied Ships Gather For U.S. Navy's RIMPAC Photo Op
Emma Helfrich - Yesterday 7:40 PM
On Thursday, July 28, 37 ships and two submarines belonging to multi-national forces took part in an impressive group sail photo op during the annual Rim of the Pacific exercise near the Hawaiian Islands. Before the U.S. Navy shared the impressive image, though, one Twitter user was quick to point out the cluster of satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracks off the coast of Kauai and shared the findings online ahead of the official release.
According to the U.S. Navy, 26 nations, 38 ships, three submarines, more than 30 unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in this year’s overall RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4. Thursday’s photo op, also referred to as a PHOTOEX, included two of those submarines and 37 of the ships after the Peruvian Navy’s BAP Almirante Guise corvette caught fire July 17 and was removed from the exercise. Online flight tracking data shared also revealed that a General Atomics MQ-9B was flying above the armada during the display. The War Zone reached out to our friend Amelia Smith, or @ameliaairheart on Twitter, who first shared the satellite AIS tracks, to ask how she managed to spot the formation.
https://twitter.com/ameliairheart/status/1552763201988739072 https://twitter.com/ameliairheart/status/1552763205897920512 https://twitter.com/RimofthePacific/status/1552413532628598785?s=20&t=5sr_vc6a0JYHy0dRze2tPg “A friend of mine noticed a cluster of Satellite AIS tracks off the coast of Kauai, but wasn't able to see what they were, and they were kind of out of order,” wrote Amelia Smith, a freelance analyst with a focus on defense and military aviation. “I took a look at it with a paid VesselFinder account which let me see what those satellite tracks are and saw the nice grid pattern.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/huge-armada-of-allied-ships-gather-for-u-s-navy-s-rimpac-photo-op/ar-AA107bgq?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=ab199c2f8e804b969e7f5efcee2396f1
