The USS Charlotte is one of five submarines taking part in RIMPAC 2026, the 37-day exercise now underway in the waters off Hawaii. The drill runs from June 24 through July 31 and brings together naval, air and land forces from 31 countries.
That makes the Charlotte one of the more closely watched pieces of the exercise. The submarine was singled out after, on March 4, 2026, five days after the US-Israel war on Iran began, it torpedoed and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters. In a year when military planners are building an event around submarines, ships and air power, the Charlotte’s return to the lineup gives Raf an obvious reason to look again.
RIMPAC 2026 is the 30th year the United States has organized the exercise, and the scale is the point. Forty military ships, including 13 from the United States, 200 aircraft and 25,000 military personnel are involved, making it the largest naval war practice in the world. For readers trying to understand why the Charlotte matters, the answer is simple: it is part of the undersea force in a drill meant to test how large numbers of militaries operate together at sea.
The exercise also carries a political edge that does not fit neatly inside the drills themselves. Israel will also have a presence in RIMPAC, even as the event brings together partners and rivals under the same planning umbrella. The source does not spell out what role the Israeli military delegation will play, which leaves a gap in an otherwise tightly choreographed display of force.
What is known is that the live-fire drills, bombings and amphibious landings will continue across Hawaii through the end of July. Bombings are planned on the Pohakuloa range on the Big Island of Hawaii, a large retired US Navy ship is scheduled to be sunk off Kauai, and amphibious landings are planned on Bellows beach on Oahu. The Charlotte’s presence will be part of that sequence until RIMPAC 2026 closes on July 31.
