Exercise COPE NORTH - GUAM

RAAF Airborne Early Warning and Control Wedgetail aircraft from No 2 Squadron lifts off from Andersen AFB on a mission during

Aircraft of  Nos 1 and 2 Squadrons deployed to Guan for the first time.  Six F/A-18F Super Hornets  from 1 SQN, Amberley and a Wedgetail from 2 SQN, Williamtown, participated in Exercise COPE NORTH from 13-24 February 2012.  COPE NORTH is a biannual exercise, historically for the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and was first held in 1978.
 
The Super Hornets and Airborne Early Warning and Control Wedgetail aircraft, along with 300 Air Force personnel, engaged in the tri-lateral air defence exercise to enhance flying,  tactical skills and joint operational capability with military aircraft from the USAF and Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).  During Exercise COPE NORTH, No 37 Squadron’s C-130 will also participate in a separate exercise on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
 
Commander of the Australian contingent for the exercise, Group Captain Geoffrey Harland, said the exercise provided excellent opportunities for RAAF personnel to integrate with a joint task force and to increase skills and interoperability with other Air Forces.  Before departure, he said, “The training will be invaluable and there will be many important lessons learnt from our participation in this exercise. Exercise COPE NORTH will allow the aircrew to develop an appreciation of the capabilities and strengths of the different aircraft types which is valuable training for air combat and Surveillance and Response Group personnel who may be required to operate in a coalition environment in the future.”
 
The aircraft in the exercise include  USAF  F-16s, B-52s, F-15Cs, F-16CJs and KC-135 and F-15Js, F2s and E2Cs from the JASDF. More than 1,000 military personnel are expected to participate.