The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt docks at Naval Magazine Indian Island, Wash., on Feb. 5, 2026. (Ikia Walker/U.S. Navy)
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt will lead America’s participation in the biennial Rim of the Pacific maritime exercise that begins June 24 in Hawaii.
A record 31 nations are joining the five-week exercise, which will feature about 40 surface ships, five submarines, 140 aircraft and more than 25,000 personnel, according to the U.S. Navy.
The Nimitz-class carrier, commissioned in 1986, has been operating and training along the West Coast since early this year. It completed its last deployment in October 2024, returning to its homeport of San Diego after 278 days at sea.
The Theodore Roosevelt carries a crew of about 5,000 while deployed and is the flagship for Carrier Strike Group 9.
It will lead a small fleet of U.S. vessels during RIMPAC. Among them will be the guided-missile destroyers USS Paul Hamilton, USS Decatur, USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Carl M. Levin and the cruiser USS Chosin.
Participating submarines are USS Charlotte and USS Columbia, both Los Angeles-class fast attack vessels. Several Navy oilers and a dry cargo ship will also join, along with the Honolulu-based Coast Guard cutter Kimball.
Ships from Pacific nations have slowly begun making their way to Hawaii for the exercise.
South Korea’s Aegis-equipped destroyer Jeongjo the Great departed Jeiu Naval Base last week for the exercise, according to a June 2 report by the Asia First News Agency.
The ship will play a prominent role in the exercise, as South Korea will command the drill’s maritime component, according to the U.S. Navy.
Canada will command the air component.
South Korea is also sending the 3,000-ton submarine Dosan Ahn Changho, the frigate Daejeon, the landing ship Cheon Ja Bong and a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft.
Ships with the Philippine navy and coast guard departed for RIMPAC on Thursday, according to a June 4 report by the online news site Inquirer.
The Philippine coast guard sent BRP Gabriela Silang, marking the first time that service will participate in the exercise.
The Philippine navy, which has not dispatched a ship to RIMPAC since 2022, sent Naval Task Group 84 aboard guided-missile frigate BRP Miguel Malvar, according to the Inquirer.
