Bilateral, tactical airlift exercise will be conducted between USAF and TNI AU (photo : Dyess)
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Service members and aircraft from the U.S. Air Force’s 374th Airlift Wing (AW), Yokota Air Base, Japan and the Indonesian Air Force will participate in Cope West 2022 (CW22), a bilateral, tactical airlift exercise at Abdulrachman Saleh Air Force Base, Malang, Indonesia, June 17-24.
Approximately 70 U.S. service members will participate with Indonesian Air Force service members in the field training exercise. Two U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules from Yokota Air Base, Japan, and two C-130s from the Indonesian Air Force are participating in this year’s tactical airlift exercise.
“Cope West allows us to strengthen our partnership with one of our most valuable partners in Southeast Asia,” said Lt. Col. Kira Coffey, Commander, 36th Airlift Squadron. “This year, we are focused on developing and expanding our combined airlift capabilities with the Indonesian Air Force.”
U.S. and Indonesian participants will exercise personnel and equipment airdrop, rigging, formation, all-weather and night flight operations, among other capabilities integral to a variety of bilateral missions.
“The tactics, techniques, and procedures we exchange with the Indonesian Air Force in Cope West help prepare us for a real-life event in which we will have to work together to secure common interests,” said Lt. Col. Coffey. “We are going to ‘practice how we would play’ and be stronger as a result.”
Pacific Air Forces, in coordination with other components, allies, and partners, provides U.S. Indo-Pacific Command with continuous unrivaled air, space, and cyberspace capabilities to ensure stability and security throughout the pacific region.
Cope West is a recurring exercise that first took place in 1989. This year marks the ninth time Cope West has been hosted in Indonesia and the 73rd anniversary of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Indonesia.
(PACAF)