U.S. 3rd Fleet, multinational partners and the Missile Defense Agency wrapped up ballistic missile defense exercise Pacific Dragon 2026 on Saturday around the Hawaiian Islands. Meanwhile, the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) Task Group which had earlier participated in the Rim of the Pacific 2026 will carry out an Indo-Pacific deployment from August to October, with the first activity being to monitor maritime sanctions evasion by North Korea.

PD26 is a biennial, multilateral ballistic missile defense and tactical data link information-sharing exercise that follows on from RIMPAC. The purpose is to refine tactics and procedures required for regional integrated air and missile defense, according to a Navy release.

“Pacific Dragon 2026 demonstrates the strength of our alliance and partnerships and our shared commitment to advancing integrated air and missile defense capabilities across the region,” said 3rd Fleer commander Vice Adm. Marc Miguez in a statement. “Through this exercise our forces are strengthening interoperability, improving information sharing, and refining the tactics and procedures necessary to operate together in support of regional security and a free and open Indo-Pacific.”.

This year’s exercise expanded multinational participation with the addition of Chile and Spain which join Australia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the United States and the Maritime Theater Missile Defense Forum (MTMD-F), an international cooperative of 12 navies charged with achieving interoperability in all aspects of maritime theater air and missile defense. Countries that are MTMD-F members are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, U.K and the U.S..

Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De Ruyter (F804) was scheduled to participate in PD26 and RIMPAC 2026 but on Jun. 19, following the frigate’s departure from a port visit to Tokyo, Japan, the Netherlands government cancelled continuation of the deployment and directed De Ruyter to the Strait of Hormuz for a potential deployment with the Multinational Military Mission for the Strait of Hormuz.

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Participating in the exercise were Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Sydney (DDG42) and an Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft, Chilean Navy frigate Almirante Cochrane (FF-05), Italian Navy multi role combat vessel ITS Giovanni delle Bande Nere (P434), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer JS Kongo (DDG-173); Republic of Korea Navy destroyer ROKS Jeongjo the Great (DDG-995), Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Álvaro de Bazán (F101) and U.S. Navy destroyer USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG-125), the first flight III Arleigh Burke, equipped with Baseline 10 and the AN/SPY-6 radar system and represents the U.S. Navy’s continued advancement of integrated air and missile defense capabilities, according to the release. U.S. air assets include P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles and BQM-177A Sub-Sonic Aerial Target (SSAT) aircraft.

The Italian Navy, in a social media post, stated that as part of PD26, Giovanni delle Bande Nere carried out a replenishment at sea operation with dry cargo ship USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE-11), “Navigating just a few dozen meters away, maintaining the same route and speed for the transfer of supplies, requires an absolute level of concentration and coordination. Another great demonstration of interoperability and logistical readiness with our partners from U.S. Navy,” reads the post.

Meanwhile the Royal New Zealand Navy Task Group comprising of frigate HMNZS Te Mana (F111) and fleet oiler HMNZS Aotearoa (A11) which had participated in RIMPAC 2026 is now headed to the Indo-Pacific as part of a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment to the region to carry out joint operations, exercises and engagements throughout the Indo-Pacific from August to October, as part of the NZDF’s commitment to regional security, announced a release from the service.

The first activity scheduled is to monitor North Korea’s maritime sanctions evasion activities, “Fresh from exercising advanced capabilities during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana will turn its attention towards maritime security patrols in North Asia monitoring for United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions breaches and evasions as part of a combined effort with partners.”, stated the release.

New Zealand has been a member of the Pacific Security Maritime Exchange (PSMX) since 2018, a partnership of nations working together to detect evasions of UNSC sanctions which are aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and the NZDF regularly deploys both air and naval assets to the region in support of PSMX patrols.

Earlier this year from late-March to mid-April, a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-8A Poseidon MPA carried out a PSMX patrol with China accusing the aircraft of harassing Chinese civilian aircraft while New Zealand refuted the accusation. North Korea’s ally China sees such missions as a cover for conducting surveillance and reconnaissance on China and routinely dispatches ships and aircraft to shadow foreign military missions, which has resulted in unsafe interactions.The NZDF stated that this is the first time that Te Mana has deployed in support of UNSC sanctions monitoring and Aotearoa will be in the area and will undertake sustainment activities for Te Mana and partner nations’ vessels. Following the PSMX patrol, the Task Group will support activities including an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) maritime cooperative activity, as well as a range of port calls including Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and South Korea, according to the release.

Concurrently the NZDF will also deploy personnel and a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon MPA to conduct multinational exercises in the region. This includes deploying the Poseidon to the Five Power Defence Arrangements’ (FPDA) Exercise Bersama Lima, which this year is being held in Singapore. The NZDF will also contribute personnel and specialist capabilities to a multinational ASEAN exercise held in Indonesia, in support of regional humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness.