060214 - Barnes ANG F-15s and personnel support multi-national exercise in Pacific Command

Barnes ANG F-15s and personnel support multi-national exercise in Pacific Command

A number of F-15C/D aircraft and more than 100 members of the 104th Fighter Wing assigned to Barnes Air National Guard base began deploying Saturday for a three week multinational exercise in Malaysia called COPE TAUFAN, where Massachusetts Air National Guard members will be conducting exercise operations alongside active duty F-22 Raptor aircraft and multinational Mig-29 and Su-27 aircraft.

"The 104th Fighter Wing's involvement in this exercise speaks volumes to the relevance of this unit in the global theater," said Col James J. Keefe, Wing Commander. "We were asked to participate in this exercise because of our proficiency with Advance Fighter Integration".

During this exercise, American fighter aircraft will fly dissimilar aircraft training with Royal Malaysian Air Force MiG-29 and SU-27 aircraft. These exercises both build relationships with one of our strategic partners but also aids in developing tactics for F-15 and F-22 integration in the Pacific Theater of Operations, said Keefe.

The unit's participation in this exercise comes months after it trained at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii in March where it participated in Exercise SENTRY ALOHA, where the wing trained with the F-22s that it will be flying with while in Malaysia. This exercise also marks the furthest west the 104th has traveled for training exercise, demonstrating its ability to both cover contingencies to the East as well as the West.