An Indian Air Force contingent took off from the Ambala Air Force Station on Monday morning for the US to participate in Cooperative Cope Thunder, an exercise in Alaska with their counterparts from other countries.

Cooperative Cope Thunder is a realistic, air combat training exercise lasting over a few days. The skills of various contingents are often varied, depending on the goals that they pursue. Hence, participanting nations get to deal with different working styles.

The IAF is participating for the first time in this exercise, which will see them matching skills with about 40 pilots from USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.

Also Read IAF pilots test skills against USAF

The IAF contingent comprising six Jaguar, one IL-76 and two IL-78 flight refueling aircraft was flagged off at a glittering function, which was attended by a number of IAF personnel including Air Chief Marshal K Krishnaswamy and Air Officer Commanding in-chief (Western Air Command) Air Marshal S P Tyagi.

Addressing the gathering, Krishnaswamy advised the participating pilots to fully exploit the opportunity to improve their skills.

Group Captain (GC) S J Nenodkar is leading the Jaguar fleet while GC Shouvik Roy is in charge if the IL-78s and GC Mohanti the IL-76 aircraft.