News Highlights:
- Exercise Cope India 23, a bilateral Air Exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF), is being held at Air Force Stations Arjan Singh (Panagarh), Kalaikunda and Agra.
- The exercise aims to enhance mutual understanding between the two Air Forces and share their best practices.
Exercise Cope India:
- About:
- The cope India Exercise is a series of international Air Force exercises between the Indian Air Force and the United States Air Force conducted on and over Indian soil.
- The first such exercise, which required many months of preparation, was conducted at the air force station in Gwalior in 2004.
- The exercise included flight tests, practice and demonstrations as well as lectures on subjects related to aviation.
- There were also media functions and social interactions among troops of the two countries.
- After the event was over, the Indian Air Force indicated that the mutual respect and bonhomie that developed between members of the two sides had cemented a firm foundation for moving ahead towards higher bilateralism.
- The exercise was repeated in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2018 and 2023.
- Highlights of the 2023 version:
- The exercise will be conducted in two phases, with the first phase practising the air-mobility component involving transport aircraft of both countries.
- The IAF element will include the Su-30MKI, Rafale, Tejas, and Jaguar fighter aircraft, while Japan is taking part in the exercise as an observer.
- The second phase of the exercise will witness the participation of B-1B bombers of the USAF, and F-15 fighter aircraft of the USAF will join the exercise subsequently, according to an IAF statement.
- The exercise will be supported by aerial refuellers, Airborne Warning and Control systems, and Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft of the IAF.
India-US Defence Relations:
- Defence cooperation:
- India and the US have Joint Committee on Defence and various other groups that involve defence trade, cooperation in maritime security, personnel exchanges, joint exercises, etc.
- The US’s defence cooperation and strategic convergence with India now exceed that of some formal treaty allies.
- The India-US Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) aims to enhance co-development and co-production efforts.
- The US has granted the status of a ‘non-NATO ally’ to India.
- India has also been recognised as a major defence partner and has been granted Strategic Trade Authorization Tier 1 (STA-1), relieving regulations for US high-tech defence and aerospace exports.
- In the time period between 2016 and 2020, India and the United States initiated a new “2+2” defence and foreign ministers’ dialogue.
- They signed the three main foundational military agreements:
- Both parties also agreed to and signed HOSTAC [ Helicopter cross-decking Agreement] and ISA [Industrial Security Annex] to the GOSMIA [ General Security of Military Information Agreement] that permitted the US government to provide restricted data to Indian defence firms.
- Counter-Terrorism And National Security:
- Counter-terrorism and national security are of prime importance for both countries as they have suffered the ill effects of terrorism during the 26/11 and the 9/11 attacks.
- There is a cooperation between the two countries to look after these matters.
- A Homeland Security Dialogue is also established between the Union Home Ministry and the Department of Homeland Security.
- Both countries share intelligence and have also agreed to work together to eliminate drug-related crimes.
- The United States is constantly supporting India in the matters of counter-terrorism by blacklisting individuals and organisations that are actively involved in activities of terrorism against India. However, the soft approach that the US has adopted towards activities of terrorism in Pakistan is preventing the formation of meaningful cooperation between the two countries.
- Diplomatic mechanisms such as the US–India Counter-Terrorism Joint Working Group and the US–India Designation Dialogues have assisted in constructing further dependence between the two.
- The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in mid-2021 threaten both countries’ security interests.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: The Hindu