Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
A total of 700 personnel from the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and United States Air Force (USAF) joined forces to train under the first leg of the Cope Thunder-Philippines 2024 (CT PH 24-1) at the Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga on Monday, April 8.
The bilateral military exercise aims to enhance the interoperability of the PAF and USAF by integrating their forces in various aerial drills.
The exercise is taking place in the Northern Luzon Intensive Military Training Area, Basa Air Base, and Brigadier General Benito N Ebuen Air Base until April 19.
It focuses on subject matter expert exchanges (SMEEs) and field exercises in air and ground operations, logistics and other mission support planning and execution.
The PAF and USAF will utilize FA-50PH fighter jets, F-16 multi-role fighter aircraft and C-130J transport aircraft in the exercise.
Maj. Gen. Fabian Pedregosa, commander of PAF’s Air Defense Command, underscored the “unwavering commitment” of the PAF and its international allies to enhance interoperability, strengthen deterrence and defense capabilities, promote regional security and stability, and bolster diplomatic ties with their American counterpart.
The second round of Cope Thunder exercise is tentatively scheduled in June.
The Cope Thunder exercise was revived by the PAF and USAF last year after being shelved for three decades.
It began in the Philippines in 1976 but had to be stopped after the closure of military bases in Clark and Subic Bay in 1991. The following year, the conduct of the exercise was moved to the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska where it was renamed Red Flag Alaska.
The country has ramped up its bilateral and multilateral cooperation with the US and other strategic partners to fortify its archipelagic defense amid lingering tension in the West Philippine Sea due to China’s aggression.
Over the weekend, an inaugural quad sail was launched by the Philippine Navy with the navies of the United States, Australia, and Japan in the West Philippine Sea to “preserve a secure, stable, and peaceful Indo-Pacific region.”
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the Philippines is changing its defense paradigms, strengthening its own capabilities, and leveraging alliances with allies and like-minded nations.
This will enable the Philippines to both secure its territory and its rights under international law and to be an effective partner of other countries in ensuring freedom of navigation, overflight, and security in international waters, he stressed. — Martin Sadongdong
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