Combined training between traditional allies Australia and the U.S. is exemplified by the close cooperation in COPE THUNER 97/4 in Alaska. Here Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Flt. Lt. Andy Kitchen, U.S. Navy Lt. Amy Wimtheiser, and RAAF Cpl. Dave Faulkner review the next planned strike.

COPE THUNDER 97/4 marked the first time the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) deployed strike aircraft to the near Arctic regions, sending five F-111C bombers from RAAF Amberley to Elmendorf Air Force Base (AFB) in Alaska. The purpose was to exercise with U.S. and United Kingdom (U.K.) aircraft.

The 5,600 mile (over 9,000 kilometer) deployment tested the RAAF's ability to operate as part of a coalition force from a foreign base with minimal support. The issue of support became even more significant when the Australian government diverted C-130 aircraft, originally assigned to transport ground crew and spare parts for the exercise, to Cambodia to evacuate Australian citizens. Approximately 80 maintenance crew members soon found themselves traveling across the massive Pacific Ocean in relative luxury, as a B707 was called in to make up for lost time.

For the detachment commander, Wg. Cmdr. Steve Walker, deploying the length of the Pacific meant the training value of the exercise began even before the first aircraft left Australia. "My crews have to be able to fly great distances to reach their target and return, so the deployment across the Pacific has had training benefits of its own." he said. "In terms of the operating area, it may seem that Alaska's rainy and cold environment isn't typical, but there's some very high hills and a lot of cloud, and that's a very useful simulation of some areas in Northern Australia."

The No. 1 Squadron F-111s are based at Amberley, near Brisbane, where they have been nick-named "pigs" for the nose-down-in-the-weeds tactics applied by the strike crews. During COPE THUNDER, the jets were based near Anchorage, Alaska at Elmendorf AFB, flying with and against British and American strike, fighter, and early warning aircraft. The Australian crews specialize in low-level night bombing, but with 21 hours of daylight per day in the Alaskan summer, they were dependent on Alaska's high terrain and cloudy conditions to mask their attacks.

The RAAF involvement in the Alaskan exercise offered other unique benefits as well. The planners of the COPE THUNDER series of exercises design them to place air crews under the highest possible pressure, within the bounds of flying safety. COPE THUNDER 97/4 simulated the first eight to ten combat missions of a conflict scenario. Historical statistics indicate that the greatest losses will take place while crews are trying to cope with the very steep learning curve inherent in these missions.

Air Commodore Ray Perry noted that Australia has not committed strike aircraft to combat for decades. "Essentially what we're doing is preparing our crews for those first few crucial missions of any operation we might get into," Air Commodore Perry said. "We obviously do that as safely as we can, but we throw a lot of threats at them and load them up with activity they would face on those first few missions of combat."

Some of those threats came from a fully-instrumented bombing range, with simulators able to recreate everything from anti-aircraft artillery to surface-to-air missiles. Sophisticated radio jamming and aggressor squadrons of F-16 interceptors filled out the combat environment.

All aircraft involved were equipped with radio telemetry pods, enabling each air battle to be transmitted in minute detail to Elmendorf AFB and Eielson AFB, Alaska. Missions were then replayed on a large theater screen to facilitate thorough debriefs between crews and umpires.

Visiting units, such as our Australian fighter squadron, train at the same high level of technology available to their American allies. "Everything is recorded," according to Wg. Cmdr. Walker, "there's absolutely no scope for subjective assessments. It's all strictly objective and can be proven by one means or another." Any wrong move by a jet crew evading an attack or by a crew making a bombing run was there for all to see, resulting in definite lessons learned.

The ground crews were also put under pressure. Operating from a foreign base, with only limited spares and resources, the maintenance team achieved exceptional rates of serviceability on their jets. Two waves of F-111s launched each day, with aircraft refueled, re-armed, and made mission ready in two-and-a-half hours.

Dozens of aircraft from Elmendorf and Eielson Air Force Bases took part in COPE THUNDER 97/4. Strike packages included up to 30 aircraft from the Australian, U.K. and U.S. air forces, plus the U.S. Navy and the Alaskan Air National Guard.

As a result of discussions held at the Pacific Air Chiefs Conference at Elmendorf, small units from a number of regional air forces may follow the RAAF F-111s to future COPE THUNDER exercises, in the "Land of The Midnight Sun."