PACIFIC OCEAN (July 16, 2022) The Royal New Zealand Navy auxiliary oiler replenishment ship HMNZS Aotearoa (A 11), center, conducts a simultaneous replenishment-at-sea with the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111), left, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022. Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy courtesy photo from New Zealand Defence Force)