India to hold IAF-USAF joint exercise Ex Cope India-18
Bureau/ royalpatiala.in/ New Delhi
The Air Forces of India and the US will begin a 12-day joint exercise “Ex Cope India-2018” on Monday to provide operational exposure to their personnel and undertake mutual exchange of best practices for enhancing operational capability, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday.
Both Indian Air Force (IAF) and United State Air Force (USAF) will participate in Ex Cope India-18 is the fourth edition in the series of Bilateral Joint exercise , which is conducted in India. This is the first time; the exercise is being planned at two Air Force bases, Kalaikunda and Panagarh from 03-14 Dec 18. USAF is participating with 12 X F15 C/D and 03 X C-130. IAF is participating with the Su-30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 , C-130J & AWACS aircraft.
COPE INDIA
Cope India are a series of international Air Force exercises between the Indian Air Force and the United States Air Force conducted on and over Indian soil. The first such exercise, which required many months of preparation, was conducted at the air force station in Gwalior from February 16 through February 27, 2004, with the US Air Force withdrawing troops and aircraft on February 27. The exercise included flight tests, practice and demonstrations as well as lectures on subjects related to aviation. There were also media functions and social interactions among troops of the two countries
