JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Service members and aircraft from the U.S. Air Force’s 374th Airlift Wing and the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) will participate in Cope West 2026, a bilateral tactical airlift exercise at Sam Ratulangi Air Force Base in Manado, Indonesia, from Sept. 7-11.
U.S. service members will train alongside their Indonesian counterparts during the field training exercise. U.S. and Indonesian Air Force C-130s will be involved in this iteration.
Cope West 2026 will focus on Tactical Air Operations training to improve interoperability with TNI-AU tactical airlift assets and support Indonesian Armed Forces modernization efforts. U.S. and Indonesian forces will conduct combined tactical air operations, integrating Low-Cost Low-Altitude airdrops, High- and Low-Velocity Container Delivery Systems, military freefall personnel airdrops, and tactical formation flights. Subject matter expert exchanges will be conducted in areas such as aerospace medicine, aeromedical evacuation, and local first responder procedures. A tabletop exercise will further refine collective skills.
Pacific Air Forces, in coordination with other components, allies, and partners, provides U.S. Pacific Command with continuous and unrivaled air, space, and cyberspace capabilities to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Cope West is a recurring exercise that was first held in 1989. This year marks the 13th iteration hosted in Indonesia.