Article Posted on : - Oct 14, 2009

NEW DELHI (PTI): India and the US will begin a 10-day joint air exercise at Agra air base in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday with focus on transport and humanitarian assistance operations.

Named ‘Cope-India’, the bilateral military exercise would witness over 150 US airmen, along with three C-130H Hercules, one C-17 Globemaster III, and one C-130J, a US Embassy press release here said.

Indian Air Force (IAF) had recently bought C-130J aircraft for India's Special Forces operations and these are likely to be based at Hindan air base in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh near here.

The IAF would be represented in the exercise by a Russian-made IL-76 Gajraj heavy lift aircraft, four AN-32 Sutlejes medium lift aircraft, two MI-17 Prataps, and one Chetak Alouette III for the exercise.

“Cope India participants would exchange airlift, airland and airdrop delivery techniques; participate in aeromedical and disaster management exercises; conduct cooperative flight operations, to include aircraft generation and recovery, low-level navigation, tactical airdrop, and air-land missions; and conduct subject matter expert exchanges in the operations, maintenance, and rigging disciplines, the release added.