Rimpac 2020
Patrol Ocenica Benito Juarez (POLA-101). Photo: Semar
05/28/2020 | Mexico city
Nelly Segura
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Due to the health crisis due to the pandemic of Covid-19, The Government of mexico has canceled its participation in the next edition of the international exercise Rimpac, which organizes the US Navy and which is scheduled to take place from June 30 to August 6.
President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, sent a letter to Senate of the Republic in which the request for nearly 600 elements of the Secretary of the Navy (Semar) participate in the exercise that will take place in Hawaii and on the South Coast of California.
This decision was made after the owner of the Mexican Navy, José Rafael Ojeda Durán, considered that “due to the current situation due to the pandemic, the participation of the operating units of the Mexican Navy outside the limits of the country is not convenient to participate in the aforementioned Multinational Exercise.”
The cancellation occurs despite the fact that the North American Navy and the organizer of the event, Vice Admiral John D. Alexander, commander of the Third Fleet, warned that drills will only be carried out at sea and all social events on land were canceled to avoid the risk of contagion among the troops.
The exercise still stands, albeit with reduced participation compared to the 2018 event that brought together 27 countries with nearly 25,000 people, 47 warships, five submarines, 18 ground forces and more than 200 aircraft.
The practice includes tactical and operational training in order to strengthen interoperability among the Navies, as well as seeking to perform standardized operating procedures, as well as building the capacity for planning and conducting operations with task forces.
For Mexico, the Rimpac would have served as the premiere setting for the most powerful ship in the navy, the Oceanic Patrol ARM (POLA-101), that with just a few months of operation changed its name from Reformer to Benito Juarez.
As part of the representation of the Mexican Naval Force a helicopter would also have attended the event Panther AS565 with 4 elements, as well as a team of 13 elements of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR).
The ARM Amphibious Ship also participated Usumacinta (A-412), with 245 elements, a helicopter Cougar EC-725 with 12 elements, a Marine Corps Company with 125 elements, two Special Forces teams with 32 elements and an operational approach team with 18 elements.
As well as three Intercept Patrols ARM Avior (PI-1111), ARM Deneb (PI-1112) and ARM Elnath (PI-1123), each with 6 elements, two planes Texan 11 T-6C + and two helicopters Blackhawk UH-60M, each with 6 elements.
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