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U.S. Air Force Capt. Tyler Rico, 421st Mission Generation Force Element F-35A Lightning II pilot, climbs into the cockpit of his aircraft during Cope Thunder 25-2 on the flightline of Clark Air Base, Philippines, July 7, 2025.
US Air Force / Aden Brown / Handout
MANILA, Philippines — The United States and Philippine air forces will begin Cope Thunder 26 on April 6, with primary flight operations over Basa Air Base in Pampanga, according to the Pacific Air Forces.
The exercise will run until April 17.
The drills designed to facilitate bilateral fighter training with the Philippine Air Force and improve combined interoperability between the two forces, the US military said.
Cope Thunder began in the Philippines in 1976, later moved to Alaska in 1992, and was resumed in the Philippines in 2023, making the upcoming drill part of the exercise’s revival in the country.
That revival has unfolded during the Marcos administration, which has expanded defense engagement with the United States through a series of joint exercises, additional site access for rotating U.S. troops and more visible alliance activity.
What came before
In 2024, the first Cope Thunder held in the Philippines after the exercise’s return ran from April 8 to 19, also with primary flight operations over Basa Air Base.
That run focused on bilateral fighter training and enhancing combined interoperability, with Philippine and US aircraft conducting air defense and fighter maneuver drills.
The two sides concluded that year's Cope Thunder-Philippines on April 19, 2024, with the US Air Force saying the exercise strengthened interoperability and readiness between the allied air forces.
Under Marcos, Cope Thunder did not just return, it also expanded. In 2025, one iteration of the exercise ran from April 7 to 18 across Basa Air Base, Clark Air Base and Colonel Ernesto Ravina Air Base, taking a broader training footprint in Northern Luzon.
The upcoming Cope Thunder 26 continues that trajectory, underscoring how air force cooperation has become a steady feature of the alliance during the Marcos presidency.
