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Two Indian Air Force MiG-27 Floggers and two U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagles fly together during COPE INDIA 2004.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force |
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Indian Air Force Sgt. G. Singh and U.S. Air Force TSgt. Dave Thomas treat a pilot with a simulated injury during the exercise.
Photo by TSgt. Keith Brown, USAF |
One challenge for U.S. airmen interacting with the Russian-made Indian aircraft is that those aircraft use metric measurements. But careful exercise planning that began in September 2003 and the familiarization flights led to safe aircraft maneuvering during the engagement series.
GAFS Commander Air Commodore S. P. Rajguru said he was pleased with the flying operations. “The exchanges are very, very frank, both on the work side and otherwise,” he said. “The United States Air Force is a very modern air force and has global experience of flying and exercising with many countries in the world. So, obviously any fighter pilot would like to interact closely to understand their operating philosophy.”
Col. Greg Neubeck, the USAF team commander for the exercise, noted that, “The [Indian] pilots are as aggressive as our pilots. They are excellent aviators; they work very hard at mission planning; they try to get as much out of a mission or sortie as possible, just like us. From one fighter pilot to another, there’s really not that much difference in how we prepare for a mission and what we want to get out of it.”
Both air forces were curious about each other’s aircraft. Between sorties, U.S. airmen gave operations and maintenance tours of their aircraft and answered questions from their Indian counterparts.
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Indian Air Force Sqdn. Ldr. (Dr.) M.S. Nataraja discusses medical issues with U.S. Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Tim McGraw. Both doctors participated in COPE INDIA 2004.
Photo by TSgt. Keith Brown, USAF
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U.S. Air Force Capt. Jeffery Mohr plays football with children at Ramakrishna
Ashrama Boys and Girls Orphanage.
Photo by TSgt. Keith Brown, USAF |
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