This episode of InsideAIR heads to Hawaii for Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026.
Held every two years, RIMPAC brings together personnel from 30+ nations.
An exercise of this scale requires extensive planning and coordination. InsideAIR goes behind the scenes to meet those involved and discover what it takes to make RIMPAC happen.
Listen on your favourite podcast app or on our dedicated podcast page.
InsideAIR Podcast Episode 147 Transcript
Please note that this transcript is automatically generated, and may have some errors. The original audio is the authoritative wording.
Narrator: Standby for broadcast. Standby for broadcast. You're listening to Inside Air, a behind the wire view of the Royal Air Force, its people, technology, and operations.
Flight Lieutenant Chris Sully: Hi, I'm Flight Lieutenant Chris Sully, and welcome to the latest RAF Inside Air podcast. In this episode, we're heading to one of the most important military locations in the Pacific, Hawaii, for Exercise RIMPAC.
Flight Lieutenant Perry: From my perspective, it's the largest exercise I've ever taken part in since I've been in the Air Force, so it's great to work with other nations, see how they work, see our similarities and differences, and also share best practice as well.
Hannah: I've definitely had to adapt since coming here. Working with so many different nations, they all have different ways of speaking, for example. Even the military vernacular is quite different. And as a civilian, that's something I need to just be adaptable to and alert to.
Greg Ferris: So you can imagine our fleet was actually able to get back up and underway within months after the attack and actually repair and do major repairs and get ships that we thought we were gonna lose but back up into the fight.
Flying Officer Aaron: Working with multinational teams, it's different to what we do at Lossiemouth.
Working with nations that I didn't think I would work with, such as the Japanese, Koreans, Indians, et cetera.
Flight Lieutenant Chris Sully: Once again, we'll reheat a few stories which you may have missed, and we'll be finding out who's under the hat this time with AS1 Ben Russell.
Sergeant Tress: What's the best thing about your job? Best thing about my job is is probably being able to acoustically track a submarine.
Flight Lieutenant Chris Sully: Every other year, the island of Hawaii in the Pacific hosts a huge maritime exercise with personnel from more than 30 nations working together across all domains. A multinational exercise like this takes a significant amount of planning and preparation, as Inside Air's Squadron Leader Amy Casey discovered when she joined some of those taking part in this year's event.
Squadron Leader Amy: Hawaii is known around the world for beaches, volcanoes, and year-round sunshine. It is also one of the most important military locations in the Pacific.
Every two years, it hosts Exercise RIMPAC, the world's largest international maritime exercise.
In 2026, more than 35,000 personnel from 31 nations trained across air, land, and sea.
Among them was a small Royal Air Force contingent.
Flight Lieutenant Perry: Flight Lieutenant Perry, I am based at Tactical Medical Wing at RAF Brize Norton, where I am one of the medical support officers. The most surprising thing of working on exercise RIMPAC is the scale of it. It's probably the, the first thing, 35,000 troops from 31 different nations taking part.
That includes different air forces naval assets. From my perspective, it's the largest exercise I've ever taken part in since I've been in the Air Force, so it's great to work with other nations, see how they work, see our similarities and differences, and also share best practice as well. I've done similar exercises before over the years.
Been a- it's been a great experience for me working on something with so many different countries involved and on such a large scale. It's really good to test the skills and everything that you're trained to do and put it into practice on a, in a large scale multinational exercise.
Squadron Leader Amy: That scale creates practical problems.
Sergeant Nathaniel was part of the multinational logistics support element, solving them alongside personnel from several.
Sergeant Nathaniel: Air fits in with the P-8 and the P-1s and the P-3s, so we help out all the squadrons that are here. It's been really good. We've coalitioned really well together. We've got a, a diverse team of five nations and yeah, it's been interesting finding out about how other nations work and how their logistics work
Squadron Leader Amy: And the sheer number of countries involved changes the experience again
Sergeant Nathaniel: What surprised me most about this exercise?
The sheer scale the amount of ships that are involved, and aircraft. There's been different nations put into senior leadership positions, so it's been great to be led by different nations. I've never done a tour like this before. The closest I've had is Afghan, but this is on a much larger scale and has so many more nations involved
Squadron Leader Amy: The same thing is happening in the air.
At Marine Corps Base Hawaii, RAF personnel worked inside a multinational tactical operations centre coordinating maritime aircraft missions. Flying Officer Aaron was one of the RAF mission managers working across different aircraft, crews, and national teams.
Flying Officer Aaron: I'm Flying Officer Aaron. I'm a mission manager for the maritime aircraft out on RIMPAC.
I play a vital role in the coordination and execution of the maritime air operations missions, synchronizing multinational teams, allowing for safe and successful flight operations. Working with multinational teams it's different to what we do at Lossiemouth, working with nations that I didn't think I would work with, such as the Japanese, Koreans, Indians, et cetera.
The job role is fairly similar. The main difference coming from the different air frames and the different teams that we're working with. The thing that surprised me most about RIMPAC is the sheer number of different nationalities and the enthusiasm and professionalism of all involved.
Squadron Leader Amy: The important part isn't simply putting those people in the same headquarters.
It's whether they can understand one another when something changes.
Flight Lieutenant Perry: So one of the biggest positives of being on RIMPAC 26 is the opportunity to work with other nations. So seeing how they operate their planning processes, their SOPs has been really good. Great way of picking up best practice.
Squadron Leader Amy: For the medical team, that was tested almost immediately.
Squadron Leader Morgan: My name's Squadron Leader Morgan. I'm an RAF medical support officer, and I'm currently the senior medical planner on exercise RIMPAC. We had a sort of real time event. We've got three different nations on my small team, and it's how quickly we integrated to sweep up and deal with that and ensure that we've get the right brief in the right place at the right time to ensure we mitigated against what could have had real impact.
Squadron Leader Amy: The work is contemporary. The location carries a much longer history.
Franklin D. Roosevelt: December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy...
Squadron Leader Amy: the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum stands on Ford Island in the middle of a landscape still shaped by what happened here in December 1941.
Its director of education is Greg Ferris.
Greg Ferris: You are standing right now on the actual on the ramp and the tarmac that, that was here during the attack. So all of this has been preserved and kept up over the years ever since December 7th. As you walk around on these hallowed grounds today it is it's really important just to keep that history in mind of the impact that this place has had.
Squadron Leader Amy: The attack on Pearl Harbor is often discussed in terms of strategy and consequence. Standing here, Greg is struck by something more immediate.
Greg Ferris: Can you imagine? You're right, just the chaos, right? If you just put yourself, I was just thinking about, I served, I was in the Air Force I got out in 2005, but I was just thinking, putting myself in their shoes just you're on the ground- Yeah.
You're with your crew, and you just see hundreds of aircraft coming in, and just absolute chaos ensues afterwards. Yeah. You wouldn't know at that point, in the heat of battle, in that moment, who's friendly who's enemy. The, that's where just, w- I think we all understand that when we serve, right?
Just friend- Yeah ... friendly fire is a real thing. Yeah. And in chaos, you become so defensive, right? You start firing at everything.
Squadron Leader Amy: The chaos lasted only a few hours. Its effects lasted for years.
Greg Ferris: After the attack Admiral Nimitz came to Pearl Harbor afterwards and assessed the damage, and then he took command here.
But one thing that always sticks with me is that when he did the survey, and they were talking about, I think his staff was advising him oh, how catastrophic it was of an attack. And he was like, "No, actually we were very lucky," because the Japanese did not hit the fuel, the fuel tanks or fuel reserves here.
So you can imagine, our fleet was actually able to get back up and underway within months after the attack, and actually repair and do major repairs, and get ships that we thought we were gonna lose, but back up into the fight. And that was largely in, in part due to that we still had our fuel.
It would've been much worse if they would've hit those fuel reserves over here. And you can see those fuel tanks when you start looking out Pearl Harbor up towards Kam Highway. You can see them, and that's where the none of that was hit. So we were very fortunate that they did not target and hit those.
Squadron Leader Amy: But Greg is equally interested in what happened afterwards.
Greg Ferris: So I think one of the great things, that, even though the attack was horrific of Japan coming in and doing what they did, I think the really, the great thing, the full circle moment at the end is reflecting on the partnership and the peace that has developed out of that.
So even when events can be catastrophic and horrific in history, I think the message that we can take away from that is again, coming full circle and that respect and peace that's been developed today. And it's really impactful for me. I know I have only been here a little over a year in my position as Director of Education, but when I see Japanese ships coming in the Port of Pearl Harbor, just, it's really just I was overwhelmed with emotion when I see that.
Especially that was my first time getting to see that. So just talk about a full circle moment to have that happen, and then get to witness that as well.
Squadron Leader Amy: Today, ships from across the Pacific arrive in that same harbour, including ships from countries that once fought on opposite sides of this war.
Greg Ferris: I Think, for all of you, why you're here today, RIMPAC, right? It's such an important piece for just joint operations between allies and just trying to just, to strengthen our bonds and how we work together to face these new challenges on the global landscape,
Squadron Leader Amy: RIMPAC brings together aircraft, ships, and military capability on an enormous scale. But much of the work happens away from them. It happens in headquarters, in conversations, in planning meetings, and in the small differences that have to be understood before they become large problems. Hannah is a human security policy advisor in the Ministry of Defence.
Hannah: So as a policy advisor, I'm there to provide policy advice, inform military planning and decision-making. Day-to-day, one of the key big-ticket things that I get involved with is the update to the commander in the morning time, which is providing him with the latest updates on the political and diplomatic environment to the exercise.
Also tasked with drafting the military instructions for the day, the policy advice attached to that, but also supporting other working groups in the exercise, whether that be the information operations teams, the HADR teams, or indeed the, the targeting teams.
Squadron Leader Amy: Her job puts policy advice alongside military planning and decision-making.
But working in a headquarters containing so many different nationalities means adapting to the people around you as well.
Hannah: I've definitely had to adapt since coming here. Working with so many different nations, they all have different ways of speaking, for example. Even the military vernacular is quite different.
And as a civilian, that's something I need to just be adaptable to and a- alert to. But for me, part of that adaptation process is just slowing down, taking stock, and also just learning from some of the military colleagues as well. They have quite robust and quick processes and ways of doing things that makes digesting information a lot more easy and seamless, I think.
Squadron Leader Amy: The same learning happens in logistics, sometimes through something as ordinary as trying to dispose of waste.
Sergeant Nathaniel: Yeah initial planning was trying to figure out how to get a contract to get rid of Sonobuoy slicks, big, long plastic tubes. So trying to figure out the US way of working with contracts, so there was a lot of planning involved with that.
Yeah, leaning into the US quite a lot for answers because of how big they are. Things can get quite complicated with financing and stuff, so it's been quite eye-opening.
Squadron Leader Amy: Different systems, different terminology, and different ways of doing the same job. None of that sounds dramatic until people need to work together quickly.
For Corporal Rory, that means working inside the Tactical Operations Center at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, helping multinational air crews get ready to fly. On paper, much of Rory's job is familiar. But here, he's doing it alongside different nations using different systems on the world's largest international maritime exercise.
Corporal Rory: Yes, I'm based over at K Bay in the Tactical Operations Center as a mission coordinator, and my job, in a nutshell, is basically to get the air crews ready to go fly the sortie on the exercise. It stems from checking the ATO to make sure everything's all correct on that and then flight following as well.
The aircraft will check in on the radio, we chat to them on the radio, make sure that they're on time and they're in the right place. The day-to-day job is pretty much the same. Obviously working with slightly different technology and software compared to what we are back home, but the day-to-day job is pretty much the exact same.
Squadron Leader Amy: Before arriving, he wasn't entirely sure how easily everyone would fit together.
Corporal Rory: At first you're thinking it's gonna be quite difficult and challenging working with different nations, but especially with my accent as well, thinking everyone's gonna be really difficult to understand me but no it's been fantastic and we've integrated really well.
Squadron Leader Amy: The exercise isn't simply testing whether an aircraft can launch or whether a headquarters can produce a plan. It's testing what happens between people when the plan changes. Perry has already seen how something as simple as terminology can create friction.
Flight Lieutenant Perry: Some of the challenges have been the language we use.
So certain terminology that we would use means something different in, for the Americans, for the Canadians, for Australians. So it's just trying to find that point where we all understand what we're saying to ensure that we can get mission success. Having the opportunity to train on such a large scale with so many different nations is really important.
Maintaining those friendships and collaborations with other nations and that inter- interoperability piece is so essential to ensure that if it, we ever did have to do joint missions with other partner nations, that we could effortlessly work with each other without any issues.
Squadron Leader Amy: The exercise produces visible results.
Sorties flown, plans tested, incidents managed. Its less visible result is a network of people who already know how to work together. That matters because the first time they meet should not be the moment a crisis begins.
Long after the exercise ends, what remains is often the human experience of having been here. For many, those deployed to Hawaii, the memories are not limited to headquarters buildings and briefing rooms.
Flight Lieutenant Perry: I think since being on the RIMPAC having the opportunity to go scuba diving in Hawaii has been a really great opportunity.
Getting to, to, to do that here whilst, being on work has been really great thing to manage to squeeze in.
Squadron Leader Amy: For Nathaniel, it was something above the water.
Sergeant Nathaniel: The most fun thing I've done so far in Hawaii is surfing.
Squadron Leader Amy: Aaron managed that too.
Flying Officer Aaron: I've had an incredible time out on RIMPAC working with many different nationalities, surfing on Waikiki Beach and just enjoying the sunshine,
Squadron Leader Amy: Morgan spent much of the exercise inside the headquarters, but Hawaii still made an impression.
Squadron Leader Morgan: Oh, I think the scenery is amazing. There's so much to see here. And having driven through a reasonable amount of it, it does... There's some stunning locations.
Squadron Leader Amy: And Hannah was looking beyond the exercise as well.
Hannah: Def- definitely enjoyed the sunshine. And also enjoyed some of the beaches on the east coast of the island are particularly beautiful. The, the landscape is so luscious and biodiverse, so looking forward to enjoying some of the culture here.
Squadron Leader Amy: These moments sit beside the exercise. Brief pauses between shifts, chances to see the island beyond the headquarters, remind us that a deployment is lived as well as planned. But Hawaii carries another experience too On Ford Island, the past is not confined to a museum display. The airfield, the harbour, and the buildings are part of the history itself, and for those who come here, standing in the place where it happened can be more powerful than simply reading about it.
Greg Ferris: The biggest takeaway for most guests that I speak with is that one, coming here for a lot of people, they do, they're connected to someone in the military somehow, some way, right? Like third, fourth, fifth degrees of separation, there's someone in your family that served or you know of someone that served.
And getting to come here is almost a pilgrimage, so to speak. Going to a very important piece of history and aviation for the military, for our country, for our allies, just for the world history, right? Getting to come here is important to get to see that and witness and feel that energy here.
Squadron Leader Amy: The exercise has ended. The aircraft have flown their final sorties. The ships are leaving the harbor, and thousands of people are beginning the long journey home. For a few weeks, they came here from across the world to work alongside people they may never have met before. They tested plans, solved problems, and learned how each other work. And somewhere in all of that, relationships were built that may matter long after RIMPAC is over.
Here at Pearl Harbor, it's difficult not to think about why that matters. The history surrounding this place is a reminder of what can happen when events move faster than people are prepared for. Exercises like RIMPAC cannot predict what comes next, but it can make sure the first time people working together isn't when something has already gone wrong.
And perhaps that is what remains when the exercise ends, not just the sorties flown or the plans tested, but people who know each other a little bit better than they did before. Standing here on Ford Island, surrounded by the history of what happened here, that feels significant because preparation happens before it's needed, before the pressure, before the crisis, before it matters.
Corporal Victoria Andrews: This is Reheat for Inside Air. I'm Corporal Victoria Andrews. As NATO's enhanced air policing mission on the alliance's eastern flank comes to an end, Royal Air Force personnel on Operation Biloxi have strengthened interoperability with allies through an extensive program of multinational training and defence engagement activities across Romania.
Alongside maintaining a continuous air policing commitment, personnel from 121 Expeditionary Air Wing operating Typhoon aircraft from Three Fighter Squadron have trained with military partners from eight NATO nations across air and land domains. These activities have enhanced collective readiness, developed shared tactics, strengthened professional relationships, and improved the effectiveness of allied forces in the Black Sea region.
Major exercises included Beastling Monolith, focused on air-land integration and close air support with allied joint terminal attack controllers, while Neptune Strike demonstrated NATO's ability to integrate combat power across multiple domains. Most recently, Beastling Redback saw UK, French, and Romanian personnel conduct realistic close air support training.
Operation Biloxi continues to reinforce collective defence, interoperability, stability, and security across NATO. Elsewhere, RAF personnel have again travelled to northern Australia to participate in Exercise Pitch Black 26, which brings together 20 nations and more than 100 aircraft for three weeks of complex multinational combat air training across one of the world's largest military exercise areas.
For Royal Air Force personnel, participation has demonstrated the ability to deploy at pace over significant distances while integrating seamlessly with international partners. The exercise is a test of the entire deployed force, from aircrew and planners to engineers, logisticians and support personnel, all working together to sustain operations in a demanding environment.
By operating alongside allied partners in realistic, high-intensity scenarios, partner nations build trust, enhance agility and reinforce their ability to respond collectively to emerging challenges. And finally, Corporal Kyle Booth has been representing Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, competing in the 50 and 100 metre breaststroke events after securing qualification at the recent British Championships.
A returning Commonwealth Games athlete, Corporal Booth's selection is particularly significant as it coincides with the RAF Swimming Association's centenary year. His achievement highlights the RAF's commitment to supporting personnel in pursuing sporting excellence alongside their military careers.
That's Reheat on Inside Air.
Flight Lieutenant Chris Sully: Thanks Vic. So let's find out now who's under the hat with Ben.
AS1 Ben Russell: I'm AS1 Ben Russell and this is Under the Hat, where we get to know an aviator in less than a minute. Name you're known by?
Sergeant Tress: I'm Sergeant Tress.
AS1 Ben Russell: What's your profession?
Sergeant Tress: I'm a WSOP acoustics, and I'm based at RAF Lossiemouth on 120 Squadron.
AS1 Ben Russell: What's the best thing about your job?
Sergeant Tress: Best thing about my job is is probably being able to acoustically track a submarine.
AS1 Ben Russell: Hardest part of your job?
Sergeant Tress: Oh, the worst thing, maybe the early mornings probably, when you've got to fly a nine-hour sortie.
AS1 Ben Russell: Best location you've served?
Sergeant Tress: I would say it's probably Keflavik in Iceland, because the country, is beautiful, and there's plenty of time to spend in all the spas.
AS1 Ben Russell: What bit of luxury kit do you never deploy without?
Sergeant Tress: It'd have to be my Xbox. For those long evenings, it's something to do.
AS1 Ben Russell: And what's your proudest moment in the RAF?
Sergeant Tress: Proudest moment probably being qualified air crew on the P8. It's a job I can't tell many people about. So yeah, I'd definitely say that.
Flight Lieutenant Chris Sully: And that's all for this episode of Inside Air. Please give us a review, subscribe via your favourite podcast app, and then join us again soon.
Narrator: You've been listening to Inside Air, a behind the wire view of the Royal Air Force, its people, technology, and operations. If you're serving in the RAF and have a story for us, please speak to your unit media and communications officer.
Inside Air is written and produced for the Royal Air Force by RAF Media Reserves.
