Korat RTAFB is a major facility for the Cope Tiger exercises, an annual, multinational exercise conducted in two phases in the Asia-Pacific region.
Cope Tiger involves air forces from the United States, Thailand and Singapore, as well as U.S. Marine Corps aircraft deployed from Japan. U.S. Navy aircraft have also been involved on Cope Tiger. The flying training portion of the exercise promotes closer relations and enables air force units in the region to sharpen air combat skills and practice interoperability with U.S. forces. Pilots fly both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat training missions.
Participating American aircraft have included the A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15C/D Eagles and F-15E Eagles, F/A-18C Hornets, F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, F-16C/D Fighting Falcons, E-3B/C Sentry Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) aircraft, KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft, C-130H Hercules airlift aircraft from 36 Airlift Squadron, and Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters.
Thai Forces fly F-16A/B Fighting Falcons, F-5E Tigers and Ground Attack L-39's,and Alpha Jets of 231 Squadron.
Singapore forces fly F-5E and F-16C/D Fighting Falcons,Lockheed KC-130B Hercules,Grumman E-2C Hawkeye,Boeing CH-47SD Chinook and Eurocopter AS-532UL Couger.
More than 1,100 people participate, including approximately 500 U.S. servicemembers and 600 servicemembers from Thailand and Singapore.
Over the last few years,Cope Tiger has widened to include CSAR(Combat Search and Rescue) assets and in 2007 for the first time RTAFB Udon Thani was also used as a base during this exercise. These included a C-130E Hercules from 36 Airlift Squadron,374 Airlift Wing(based at Yokoya AB,Japan)in 2006,and a G-222 and a C-130H from the RTAF in 2007.
Since the 1980s United States Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet fighters have used Khorat as a base during Cobra Gold exercises.
Read more about this topic: Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base
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