Cope India

From OnAirpower.org

Cope India

Cope India is the name of a series of joint USAF-Indian AF exercises conducted in India.

1 Cope India 2002
2 Cope India 2004
3 Cope India 2006
4 Future Exercises
5 Sources
6 References

[edit] Cope India 2002

Cope India 2002 was the first in the series of exercises, and focused on airlift operations^[1].

[edit] Cope India 2004

Cope India 2004 was conducted on February 15th-27th, 2004 at Gwalior Air Force Station, India^[2]^[3] (located 10 miles from the city of Gwalior in North Central India). It was the second in the Cope India series. It was the first time that the US and Indian forces engaged in Dissimilar Air Combat Training exercises. US participation included F-15s from Elemndorf AFB, Alaska, while India flew Mirage 2000, MiG-21, MiG-27, Su-30, and Jaguar aircraft.

[edit] Cope India 2006

The 2006 Cope India exercises were held November 7th-19th, 2005 at Kalaikundi Air Base, located near Calcutta^[4]^[5]. US F-16 fighters from Misawa Air Base^[6], and Indian MiG-21 and Su-30 MKIs participated in the exercises. It was the first in the Cope India series to involve an E-3 AWACS aircraft^[7]. Note that the Cope India 2006 exercises are sometimes erroneously referred to as "Cope India 2005".

[edit] Future Exercises

According to reports in the media^[8], the bi-yearly exercise cycle may continue in 2008 with Indian Air Force Su-30 MKI fighters visiting Nellis AFB for Red Flag exercises.