Indonesian, US Air Forces to Conduct Exercise

TheIndonesia.id - The United States Air Force and the Indonesian Air Force (AU) will hold a bilateral, tactical airlift exercise called the Cope West 22 Exercise. Service members and aircraft from the U.S. Air Force’s 374th Airlift Wing (AW), Yokota Air Base, Japan, and the Indonesian Air Force would participate in Cope West 2022 (CW22) at the Abdulrachman Saleh Air Force Base in Malang, East Java, on June 17-24, 2022.

US Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs noted in a statement issued by the US Embassy here on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. "Cope West allows us to strengthen our partnership with one of our most valuable partners in Southeast Asia," Lt Col Kira Coffey, Commander of the 36th Airlift Squadron, stated.

Cope West is a recurring exercise that was first held in 1989. This year marks the ninth time that Cope West has been hosted in Indonesia and the 73rd anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and the US.

 Approximately 70 US service members will participate with Indonesian Air Force service members in the field training exercise. Two US Air Force C-130 Hercules from the Yokota Air Base, Japan, and two C-130s from the Indonesian Air Force are participating in this year’s tactical airlift exercise, according to the statement.

 "This year, we focus on developing and expanding our combined airlift capabilities with the Indonesian Air Force," Coffey stated.

 US 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," Lt Col Coffey stated.

 "We are going to ‘practice how we would play’ and be stronger as a result," he affirmed.

 Pacific Air Forces -- in coordination with other components, allies, and partners -- strive to provide the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command with continuous unrivaled air, space, and cyberspace capabilities to ensure stability and security throughout the Pacific region, the US Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs noted in its statement.