Cooperative Cope Thunder brings international participants

  • Published
Forces from the United States, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Mongolia, NATO, South Korea, Germany, Slovak Republic and Australia will arrive in Alaska July 15 to participate in exercise Cooperative Cope Thunder 06-3.

This Pacific Air Forces field training exercise for U.S. forces and its allies is the largest multi-lateral air combat exercise in the Pacific.

Soon to be re-designated Red Flag-Alaska, Cooperative Cope Thunder provides joint and combined offensive counter air, interdiction, airdrop, close-air support and large force employment training under a simulated combat environment. It also serves to improve air combat skills for U.S. and international forces.

More than 650 U.S. servicemembers and approximately 200 servicemembers from other participating countries are scheduled to participate in the exercise that runs from July 20 to Aug. 5 on the Pacific Alaskan Range.

Air operations will be flown out of Eielson Air Force Base and Elmendorf AFB.

Countries expected to observe this year's exercise include Mexico, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Russia.

The U.S.-forces-only Cope Thunder exercise, also held in Alaska, has already been renamed Red Flag-Alaska. More than 1,500 Airmen participated in the first Red Flag-Alaska exercise in April and May.