IRIA News

The United States Air Force (USAF) is participating in Exercise Cope Tiger 2024, along with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), and the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF). The aerial drills, taking place at Korat Air Base, Thailand from March 18 to 28, mark the 30th anniversary of the trilateral exercise.

The air combat exercise involves a total of 77 assets and over 2,000 personnel from the three participating nations. The Singapore Air Force has sent 27 aircraft, including H225M medium-lift helicopters, eight ground-based air defense systems, and a contingent exceeding 700 personnel to Thailand for the exercise.

The U.S. Air Force has sent its F-35A fighter aircraft for the first time in the exercise. the U.S. Air Force also dispatched 10 F-16 fighter jets from its base in South Korea to join exercises with Thailand’s F-16 and F-5 jets and Singapore’s F-15 jets.

The large-scale joint exercises between the three allied nations are aimed at developing extensive joint air defense and strike mission capabilities in demanding settings.

According to the Singapore Air Force statement, alongside training maneuvers, personnel from the three air forces will partake in joint socio-civic programs aimed at engaging local communities and schools in the vicinity of Korat Air Base and Chandy Range.

FriendshipThroughTheSky🇺🇸🇹🇭🇸🇬
Cope Tiger 2024#UnbeatableAirForce#กองทัพอากาศ#CopeTiger2024#ExchangeExperienceExpert#FriendshipThroughTheSky~ pic.twitter.com/E8RYRpF5ZF

— โรงเรียนกองทัพอากาศ Royal Thai Air Force🇹🇭 (@Tanyavat721) March 23, 2024

While speaking to reporters at the training grounds, Royal Thai Armed Forces Commander General Songwit Noonpackdee said the “exercises this year focus on large-scale fighting and security keeping, as well as analysis of aerial photos”. He added that that the arrival of advanced fighter jets proved that the U.S.-Thailand friendship is “close and strong”.

Royal Thai Armed Forces Commander General Songwit further highlighted that information and lessons learned from the training exercises will be used to “draft a development plan for the armed forces to be enforced from 2028 to 2037.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Training Director Colonel Jeffery D. Shulman said that while he has previously taken part in the annual Cobra Gold exercises, this marks his inaugural participation in Cope Tiger. Expressing his rationale, he mentioned his decision to involve junior Air Force pilots, believing they stand to gain significant learning experiences from this training.

U.S. Colonel Shulman highlighted that this year’s exercise will entail coordinated flights of approximately 50 to 60 jets spanning roughly 320 kilometers.

Thailand’s training director Group Captain Anon Jarusombat said that the joint exercises provided all three air forces an opportunity to “exchange knowledge and strengthen ties for the sake of regional security”. He highlighted that this year’s exercises are being held under the theme of “Friendship Blue Sky”.

The exercise director, Colonel Sebastian Chai from the Singapore Air Force said “This year’s Exercise Cope Tiger is a special one. This year we celebrate the 30th anniversary since the exercise started in 1994. The fact that we have sustained this exercise for the past 30 years reflects the strong commitment by the three air forces towards this trilateral relationship.”

Colonel Sebastian Chai highlighted that “Exercise Cope Tiger is a premier air combat exercise that the Republic of Singapore Air Force participates in every year. This exercise is important to us for two key reasons. First, the large training airspace in Thailand gives us the opportunity to conduct realistic high-end large-force employment training to hone our operational competencies, something that we cannot replicate in Singapore.”

The Exercise Cope Tiger “provides the opportunity for us to interact and also to learn from our Royal Thai Air Force and U.S. Air Force counterparts and also strengthen the excellent defense relations with our partners,” Col. Chai added.