The US Navy has released images showing the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Boxer firing a RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile during a live-fire exercise in the Pacific on 7 November.
The drill took place while the ship was operating in the US Third Fleet area of responsibility as part of advanced tactical training.
The exercise is another step in Boxer’s return to front-line activity after several years of delays caused by maintenance problems. The ship recently completed a major modernisation package, including upgrades that allow it to operate the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. After repeated setbacks in 2023 and 2024 that kept the vessel in port, the Navy has been working to restore full reliability ahead of sustained deployments.
USS Boxer is one of eight Wasp-class assault ships that support US Marine Corps expeditionary operations. At full load it displaces more than 40,000 tonnes and can carry a mix of helicopters, MV-22B Ospreys, and either AV-8B Harriers or F-35Bs depending on mission requirements. Its defensive suite includes RAM and Sea Sparrow missiles, Phalanx close-in weapon systems and 25 mm chain guns.
During the recent live-fire, the ship’s RAM launcher engaged a test target as part of routine weapons certification.
The U.S. Navy said the training was intended to sharpen tactical proficiency and ensure that crews remain ready to respond to threats in the Pacific, where Third Fleet is responsible for an area of roughly fifty million square miles stretching from the eastern Pacific to the Arctic.
