Exercise TRIDENT FURY

Strengthening Readiness in the Pacific

CDR recently asked Senior Staff Writer, Joetey Attariwala, to embed with the Forces aboard HMCS Regina during Exercise Trident Fury 2025, to gain direct insight into the operations of the at sea Task Group. Here is our report.

Exercise Trident Fury 2025 (ETF25) marked the latest evolution of Canada’s premier Pacific-based naval exercise, hosted by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Maritime Forces Pacific.

Conducted as a biennial training event, Trident Fury began as a focused at-sea exercise for Operations Room Officer (ORO) training. Over time, however, it has expanded dramatically in scope and ambition, evolving into the largest RCN-hosted multinational maritime exercise in the Pacific. ETF25 now serves not only as a proving ground for Canada’s Pacific Fleet but also as a hub for integrated, multi-domain warfare operations, bringing together a wide array of allied and partner nations to train across air, sea, land, and cyber domains.

Held in a non-RIMPAC year, Exercise Trident Fury fills a critical role in sustaining interoperability training for Canadians, and allied forces and partners. This year’s exercise brought together over 1,000 military personnel in an impressive demonstration of combined capabilities. The Royal Canadian Navy fielded HMC Ships Regina, Vancouver, Max Bernays, Nanaimo, and the Victoria-class submarine HMCS Corner Brook. From the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) came CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft and CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter; while the Canadian Army’s 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group provided valuable surveillance and protection contributions. Allied participation included the United States Navy with the destroyer USS John Paul Jones and P-8 Poseidon aircraft; the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin, and – for the first time ever at Trident Fury – the Mexican Navy with its flagship ARM Benito Juarez and its embarked AS565 MBe Panther helicopter.

The Canadian-led multinational task group was commanded by Commodore David Mazur, Commander of Canadian Fleet Pacific, who was embarked aboard HMCS Regina along with his command staff.

Rear-Admiral Chris Robinson, Commander of Maritime Forces Pacific, underscored the strategic significance of the event: “Exercise Trident Fury 2025 offers an exceptional opportunity for the Royal Canadian Navy to collaborate closely with our allies and partners, demonstrating our steadfast commitment to a secure and peaceful Pacific. Operating as part of a coordinated task group is fundamentally different from individual ship operations, and regularly practicing these joint skills with our partners is essential to our success. The sailors, soldiers, and aviators involved in this exercise exhibited outstanding professionalism, dedication, and expertise, ensuring that we remain fully prepared to meet any challenge. This exercise not only strengthened our operational readiness but also strengthened the deep interoperability and trust that underpin our partnerships, enhancing our collective capability to respond swiftly and effectively to crises worldwide.”

FROM ROUTINE FORCE GENERATION
TO COMPLEX MULT-DOMAIN OPERATIONS

For Commodore Mazur, ETF25 represented an important opportunity to move beyond routine training cycles. “The Navy goes to sea regularly, and we do what’s called force generation — it’s really just getting out there — being at sea is essential because we can’t even turn our radars on in harbour without impacting communications. So we go offshore, maybe 50–60 miles, and we do various trials and gunnery shoots to keep our skills up. It’s individual training, and then we do collective training. Doing that once a quarter is necessary, but going deeper from time to time is really important as well.”

In even-numbered years, the RCN participates in the massive RIMPAC exercise alongside dozens of nations. In odd-numbered years, Exercise Trident Fury serves as the venue for a “larger exercise where we go deeper and try and do more and push boundaries within our own construct of what we can do,” Mazur told CDR.

For 2025, Commodore Mazur and his staff took cues from emerging global security trends in Ukraine, Israel, and in the Indo-Pacific region with China, North Korea, and Russia, and designed realistic scenarios to test readiness in defending Canadian and North American waters against sophisticated threats.

READ: INDO-PACIFIC – Defending the ‘First Island Chain’

ETF25 was also a venue for innovation. Notable milestones included the first-ever landing of a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter on an Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel (HMCS Max Bernays), demonstrating expanded flexibility for RCAF and RCN aviation operations. The RCN also trialed various uncrewed systems like the Hammerhead uncrewed surface vessel, and the Snyper Uncrewed Aircraft System – Target (UAS-T) which is used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) as well as an aerial target, showcasing uncrewed system integration into fleet activities.

REALISTIC THREAT SCENARIOS

The central scenario for ETF25 revolved around two concurrent threats: the possibility of containerized weapons hidden aboard merchant shipping, and the approach of enemy submarines into North American waters. As Mazur explained, “Canada is no longer immune to attack. We know that potential adversaries could put missiles or weapons in sea containers so they’re disguised, and so any container ship could have a military effect against Canada by dropping off a sea mine, using UAVs, putting bottom surveillance off our coast, or having missiles on it, so we ran a scenario using that as a threat.”

The exercise also featured a robust anti-submarine warfare (ASW) component, with HMCS Corner Brook playing the role of a high-threat adversary submarine. Mazur noted that many countries are expanding their submarine fleets which could pose threats, including the ability to launch weapons like cruise missiles from well beyond 1,000 miles. ETF25 simulated such a threat, requiring coordinated tracking and engagement by surface combatants and maritime aircraft.

The Task Group also exercised against a growing threat capability, and that is uncrewed aerial vehicles. To do so, the RCN used Snyper UAVs as aerial targets.

“You can launch it off the flight deck, and then you fly it at the ships,” said Mazur. “Each of the ships got a chance to see what it looks like. I talked to the CO’s of Benito Juarez and of John Paul Jones, and I can tell you that it’s very humbling because you have these ships that are designed to find anti-ship missiles coming at them from 80 miles away, and launch missiles to intercept, but there’s this little mosquito of a drone, 500 yards away, and you can’t see it because radars and systems are not tuned to do that. In our case, we’ve done trials with our Warfare Center, and so we know how to tune radars and help protect ourselves from that kind of threat. The Canadian Navy also has a sort of broadband capability that would take out all drones threatening the ship. It kind of puts out an electronic bubble around the ship, and would cease the control mechanisms on drones. But for this exercise we were practicing kinetics. It was probably the first time an American ship has ever seen a Snyper drone, and I know it was a first for the Mexicans. The standard answer was: can you bring it closer please? And then you would see the machine guns firing, and you would see ships tuning radars differently. We all got a chance to shoot at a Snyper drone.”

PORT SECURITY, MINE COUNTERMEASURES
& MARITIME INTERDICTION

A key part of the exercise involved a simulated port security scenario using Port Alberni as a surrogate for the major urban port of Vancouver. When one vessel’s activities aroused suspicion, investigators first suspected environmental dumping but soon identified potential sea mines. This triggered a Fleet Diving Unit deployment embarked on HMCS Nanaimo, supported by a Forward Operating Base (FOB) established at Secret Beach near Ucluelet. The operation involved close liaison with local First Nations communities, and with the Canadian Rangers providing perimeter security.

The Fleet Diving Unit conducted underwater searches using remote-operated vehicles (ROVs), locating and identifying suspect mines before tracing them back to a specific ship. Surveillance assets – including drones – were tasked to track the suspect vessel. HMCS Max Bernays, carrying both a U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachment and the RCN’s Advanced Navy Capabilities Unit boarding team, shadowed the vessel to establish a “pattern of life” before conducting a boarding operation. This sequence demonstrated domestic maritime interdiction procedures, the legal complexities of boarding in international waters, and coordination with law enforcement partners such as the RCMP.

TASK GROUP INTEGRATION
& INTEROPERABILITY

ETF25 operated under a distributed command structure, with multiple task group commanders overseeing specialized mission areas like mine countermeasures, maritime interdiction, UAV operations, maritime patrol aircraft coordination, and submarine warfare. This structure mirrored the complexity of a real-world defence of Canada scenario, supported by national cyber and space commands and linked to the East Coast Maritime Operations Centre.

Port security operations featured Defender-class patrol boats from both the RCN’s Advanced Navy Capabilities Unit and U.S. Coast Guard District 17, enabling joint drills for port security. Surface task force operations included combined seamanship drills, helicopter cross-deck operations, and live-fire gunnery which ensured that Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures were aligned.

The presence of the Mexican Navy for the first time was a notable achievement, strengthening North American maritime partnerships. The Mexican flagship, ARM Benito Juarez, was a standout for a number of reasons — the ship incorporates many of the same weapon systems and sensors that the Halifax-class does — and many, including CDR’s Attariwala who visited the ship while at sea, have spoken about the Refromador class of ship as an example of what Canada is leaning towards for a future Canadian Continental Defence Corvette.

“The Mexican Navy has been such a pleasant surprise,” said Mazur. “The way they maneuver, their gunnery, it is almost like they’re a NATO ally. It’s our first time ever working with Mexico – the Mexican Navy has worked in RIMPAC before, and it happened to be the RIMPAC I was in, which is how the invite to Mexico came about. It has been outstanding – they actually took five Canadians on board to give them exposure. When two new navies are working together you take a crawl, walk, run approach. Their English has been solid and their understanding of maneuvering has been very good. I can tell you that by the end of the exercise we had great confidence in their capabilities. You saw it with the weapons serials we all did, and when we operated close with them to do a light line transfer for an operational part that HMCS Regina had, and HMCS Vancouver needed. So we transferred the part over to the Juarez, and they put it in their helicopter and flew to Vancouver.”

The cross-deck evolutions with Mexico’s AS565 MBe Panther helicopter, callsign Toucan, were particularly successful and highlighted the ease of integration between air and sea assets. This was the first time a Mexican Navy Panther helicopter landed on a Canadian warship, and it was also the first time the Panther landed on USS John Paul Jones. Not only was the Panther helicopter a valuable platform to quickly move people around, but it was also used to manually drop sonobuoys during the anti-submarine warfare serials – another first for the Mexican Navy.

As mentioned, a Cyclone helicopter air detachment from 443 Squadron was embarked on HMCS Regina. The aircraft, callsign Bronco, was used primarily in its anti-submarine role, and stood 30-minute alert to do cross-over work with maritime patrol aircraft and to fly when there were gaps in coverage with MPAs.

CDR had the opportunity to visit USS John Paul Jones while at sea during ETF25, and spoke with Commander Kodi Lock, the Executive Officer of the Arleigh Burke class destroyer that participated in the exercise. “We are based in Everett, Washington, but we usually deploy forward and away from North America. This exercise has given us a renewed appreciation for the defence of North America in closer waters, and has been a wonderful training opportunity for our sailors who are working up to high readiness. Having the submarine Corner Brook as a threat was a real challenge for our underwater warfare team, and the ASW serials really made us think about our manning cycles during prolonged search and prosecution. We also really appreciated the ability to shoot high explosive rounds at targets – it allowed our crew to validate their systems and gain confidence. We really enjoyed working with the Canadian Navy, and I’m confident our Navy will continue to participate as it’s great training close to home.”

INFO FURY

For the first time, ETF25 incorporated Info Fury, a sub-exercise focused on cyber warfare and information operations. Mazur emphasized the importance of this addition: “We see that there’s fake information, disinformation – it’s information warfare. There are cyber attacks, and space-based effects that go against you. Our military is getting better at recognizing it, but from a naval interface, we haven’t practiced this before, so this is the first time we’ve really gone to this extent.”

This realistic scenario tested the fleet’s ability to maintain operational tempo under cyber intrusion, misinformation campaigns, and space-based disruptions – factors increasingly relevant in modern naval warfare. As part of this training, ships would limit their electronic emissions in effort to learn how to operate in a degraded, compromised or denied electronic environment.

HAMMERHEAD VS. MAKO

The RCN has used the 20-foot Hammerhead uncrewed surface vessel for a number of years, and greatly values the kinetic training derived from the use of that platform. Exercise Trident Fury served as an opportunity to evolve the use of the platform.

“You can put different packages on the Hammerhead – radar reflectors, or you can fit it with an electro-optical sensor if you really want to – but we’ve only ever used them as a kill drone where you run it out from the ship. The Hammerhead is pretty humbling. It presents a small radar contract if you don’t put the radar reflector on it, and even when you’re banging away with real high explosives, it can still be a challenge to knock it out of the water,” said Mazur. “I’ve always wondered why can’t we do more, so I challenged my team about a year ago to put other payloads on it. It didn’t have to be in an operationally effective way, but it had to lead people to think that, yeah, we can do more. Whether the drone needs to change, or whether the payload needs to change is something we can look at once we have a proof of concept or a demonstration.”

“I challenged the team to come up with something that would be able to go in the water and launch ahead and not to be a kill target necessarily. They worked with the scientific community and developed a pneumatic launching system that had a series of tubes on it — it looks like a sports car with big headers and exhaust pipes up in the air, and it carried sonabuoys, or a Mk 39 EMATT. That gave it much more capability so we brought it out here and experimented with it,” said Mazur.

The other major development with the Hammerhead USV was the Mako variant, which is a Hammerhead optimized for more operational roles. Mazur explained: “This is a capability where, if you have a drone that takes GPS coordinates, and a drone that can be manually controlled, and a drone that you could put cameras on, then why could you not turn it into a scouting sensor? Why could you not put electronic warfare on it? Why couldn’t you put an explosive head in it? When we go overseas, we see adversaries using drones to monitor us all the time. We tend not to use our drones to monitor them, but there’s no reason why we can’t as it’s international waters, and as long as we know how to operate them safely. I’m sort of worried that one of the drones that monitor us one day is going to be packed full of explosives, so I think we need to be able to counter a drone like that, so we did some experimentation.”

For the main trial, HMCS Vancouver detached from the rest of the formation to have the appropriate safety cordon required. HMCS Vancouver then launched a Mako USV that was laden with explosives and guided it towards a target vessel via satellite link. The Mako successfully struck the target vessel, a Hammerhead USV, demonstrating a major advancement in uncrewed maritime operations. This effort was led by the Navy’s Advanced Naval Capabilities Unit in collaboration with the Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific).

“What this has demonstrated is that you can radically change a rather basic capability that we’ve had in our Navy for about 20 years with a little bit of effort and focus, and this one we’ve only been working on for about three months now,” said Mazur.

Exercise Trident Fury culminated in a coordinated show of resolve by the Task Group composed of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, intended to deter the simulated adversary from encroaching on Canadian waters. After several days of combined operations, the adversary submarine – played by HMCS Corner Brook – escalated to a simulated missile engagement against the West Coast of Canada. This hostile act triggered a full ASW response, resulting in the submarine’s “destruction” in the exercise scenario.

ETF25 demonstrated the RCN’s ability to integrate complex mission sets – anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasures, port security, maritime interdiction, air defense, cyber and information warfare – into a coherent operational picture. It tested coordination between ships, aircraft, divers, boarding teams, cyber operators, and policy-makers across multiple chains of command.

Just as importantly, it reinforced Canada’s growing defence ties with allies in the Pacific and North America. The exercise deepened operational relationships with the United States and broke new ground with Mexico’s participation, while observers from Japan and Korea signaled the potential for further cooperation.

For Commodore Mazur, the success of ETF25 lay not just in tactical wins, but in building readiness and resilience. “Overall, we stitched everything together to make sure we know how to work together so if ever called upon, we are that much better now at being ready to defend our coastline… In the end, Trident Fury is that larger-level exercise where we develop realistic scenarios and then do a lot of experimentation on top of it. This year, we achieved exactly that.”

Joetey Attariwala is CDR’s Senior Staff Writer