Cope India Exercise

India and the United States are set to conduct the next edition of their bilateral air exercise called ‘Cope India’. This is aimed at enhancing the interoperability between the air forces the two countries. The air exercise will take place from April 10 to 21, 2023, at the air force base in Kalaikunda, West Bengal. This will mark the first major air exercise between India and the US after a gap of five years.

Participants of the Exercise

The Indian Air Force will participate in the exercise with its frontline fighters aircraft SU-30MKI, Rafale, and the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), among other elements. On the other hand, the US Air Force contingent will reportedly participate with its F-15 fighter jets.

Observer Nation

The air exercise will have Japan as an observer nation. As per the Agreement of the Defence Ministers’ Conference organized on August 20, 2018, the Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) participated in Cope India for the first time in December 2018 as an observer. Japan’s participation in the upcoming exercise is a part of a phased plan proposed by the US to make it a trilateral event.

Previous Editions

The previous edition of Exercise Cope India was organized between Indian Air Force and United States Air Force in December 2018 in India. For the first time, the exercise was planned to be held at 2 Air Force bases, Kalaikunda and Panagarh from December 3-14, 2018. In the 2018 edition, IAF participated with its Su-30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, C-130J & AWACS aircraft, while the USAF participated with 12 F15 C/D and 3 C-130 aircraft.

Firsts in 2023

The year 2023 has so far turned out to be busy for IAF with several ‘firsts.’ In January this year, India and Japan conducted the first edition of the air exercise Veer Guardian hosted by the JASDF. When it comes to multilateral exercises, the IAF participated in Exercise Cobra Warrior in February this year for the first time in the UK.

The Aim

The coming air wargames in the edition of Exercise Cope India are expected to enhance the interoperability between the two air forces. This exercise is an opportunity for the two nations to learn from each other’s combat tactics, as well as to share their experiences and best practices.

Month: Current Affairs – April, 2023

Category: Defence Current Affairs