MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean frigate in the world's main naval exercise

Frigate, <i>Almirante Riveros</i>

One of Chile's most modern frigates, “Almirante Riveros” left this week for San Diego and Hawaii o join a multinational force that will be taking part in the Rim of the Pacific, RIMPAC 2008 naval exercises, which is considered the largest operation of its kind in the world.

Chile has been participating since 1996 in the biannual exercises with surface fleet units, helicopters and on occasions with submarines. This year's edition involves ten countries with the participation of 35 vessels, including a carrier, six submarines and 150 aircrafts and over 22.000 seamen, pilots, soldiers and service staff from the US Coast Guard. "Almirante Riveros" arrived in Chile from Holland last August as part of the Chilean Navy surface fleet renewal program, and following a period of training along the Pacific in several naval exercises with foreign navies was considered ready for Rimpac "In practical terms if a Chilean frigate is capable of operating efficiently in this type of highly demanding operational theatre, it means we are ready to act as part of a multinational force in any part of the world", said Rear Admiral Gustavo Jordan Astaburuaga, since "we're talking about the most important multinational exercise at world level". In the first "Work Up" leg of the exercise beginning in San Diego en route to Pearl Harbour all vessels during two weeks will be involved in different operations and procedures, both jointly and on their own. The Final Combat Exercise is scheduled for July 31st when all the vessels, aircrafts and personnel will participate in the full display. This is the 21st in a series of RIMPAC exercises conducted periodically since 1971 and brings together maritime, air and land forces from Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Netherlands, Peru, Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. Captain Ronald Mc Intyre Astorga is the commander of "Almirante Riveros" a multipurpose frigate, built in Holland, with a crew of 160 and a Cougar helicopter. The frigate is scheduled to remain in Hawaii until the first week of August and will later participate in a joint exercise in Panama before returning on September to her home base in Valparaíso.