A community day was held on Feb. 21 at Andersen Air Force Base to mark the end of training for COPE North 2025.
COPE North is an annual multinational exercise sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Air Forces and includes members of the Royal Australian Air Force, the Japan Air Self Defense Force, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marine Corp.
More than 2,300 servicemen took part in the month-long training and approximately 62 aircraft were involved, flying roughly 4,000 sorties over the course of the exercise.
Australia, Japan, and the U.S. air forces operate variants of the F-35 II, the latest fifth-generation, multirole, stealth strike fighter. The training gave each nation an opportunity for maintenance crews and pilots who operate these aircraft to work with one another to work with one another cohesively in combat operations.
A U.S. Air National Guard, F-35 Lighting II on display for COPE North 2025’s community day. Photo by Skyler Obispo.
Wing Commander Andrew “Fiddy” Nilson, 75th Squadron’s Commanding Officer of the RAAF, who pilots an F-35A, flew six missions during COPE North 2025.
Nilson told the media of the importance of these exercises and developing relationships with partner forces.
“Personnel relationships carry a lot of weight and last a long time,” he said.
On the F-35’s in the exercises with the U.S. and Japan, he said that there was “seamless integration tactically” and that maintenance teams worked together towards “interoperability”.
Wing Commander Andrew “Fiddy” Nilson, 75th Squadron, RAAF. Photo by Skyler Obispo.
While details on the F-35 platform remain largely classified, a feature Nilson spoke on was its sensor and communications capabilities which allow pilots to share information efficiently across the battlespace.
Outside of the F-35, a number of other fighter and support aircraft took part in COPE North 2025.
Overall, Nilson said that operations were successful and faced only minor issues like inclement weather and bridging communications gaps. mbj
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