PACAF to conduct Cope North 2014

Release Number: 010214

2/10/2014 - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- The U.S. Air Force, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian Air Force and Republic of Korea Air Force will conduct exercise Cope North 2014 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 17 through 28, 2014.

This is the annual iteration of a long-standing multilateral exercise designed to enhance each countries' air operations. The exercise includes humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training for the USAF, JASDF and RAAF.

Approximately 50 aircraft from the U.S., RAAF and JASDF will participate in the exercise.

The USAF will have approximately 1,200 participants; the JASDF will have approximately 430 participants; and the RAAF will have approximately 240 participants.

The first week of the exercise will consist of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training and air combat training. During the second part of the exercise, the focus will shift to large force employment training, air-to-ground strike mission training, and fighter verses fighter air combat tactics training. Also, JASDF squadrons will conduct surface attack training on the Farallon de Medinilla Range, 160 nautical miles north of Guam.

Since the first Cope North exercise in 1978 at Misawa Air Base, Japan, thousands of U.S. and Japanese airmen have honed skills vital to maintaining a high level of readiness, inherent to the stability of the region. This is the third iteration of the trilateral Cope North exercise with US, Australia and Japan. The exercise continues to strengthen regional partner warfighter integration and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief interoperability training.

Additionally, this marks the first year of Republic of Korea Air Force participation in the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief portion of the training. ROKAF will dispatch approximately 25 participants with a CN-235 cargo aircraft.

This is the 85th Cope North exercise, it was held as often as four times per year, but is currently an annual exercise.