DHAKA - The US Air Force and the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) began Exercise Cope South on Sunday, November 1, at BAF Base Bir Uttam A.K. Khandker in Dhaka, the US Embassy in Bangladesh said. The US Pacific Air Forces-sponsored exercise runs for five days, through November 5, and Bangladesh Air Vice Marshal Haider Abdullah and US Embassy Dhaka Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Trishita Maula welcomed participants at the opening ceremony.

Source: US Embassy in Bangladesh, Nov 1, 2026

A total of 120 BAF personnel and 18 members of the US Pacific Air Forces are taking part, according to an ISPR press release reported by Bangladeshi media. The exercise is conducted under the directives of the Armed Forces Division and managed by the BAF, the release said, and Air Vice Marshal Haider Abdullah, Air Officer Commanding of the base, delivered the welcome address while Trishita Maula attended as a special guest.

Source: ISPR release via NewsNou, Nov 1, 2026

5 daysExercise Cope South 2026, November 1-5 in Dhaka
120Bangladesh Air Force personnel taking part, ISPR said
18US Pacific Air Forces members taking part, ISPR said
C-130J / C-130BAircraft types at the centre of the training, ISPR said

Pilots, maintenance specialists and logistics teams from both countries will train side by side on C-130J operations and maintenance, cargo handling, aviation safety, emergency response, airfield security and medical support, the US Embassy said. The ISPR programme also covers C-130B aircraft, hazardous-materials risk management, aerospace medicine, airfield defence and crash fire rescue.

Cope South strengthens the ability of both air forces to respond to regional security challenges, natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies, the embassy said. According to the US Department of War, cited by ANI, Cope South is an annual bilateral aerial exercise designed to increase the combat readiness and interoperability of the US Air Force and the Bangladesh Air Force.

Source: ANI via Indian Economic Observer, Nov 1, 2026

The exercise is the latest piece of visible US-Bangladesh defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, bringing American airlift crews to Dhaka for a week of joint work built around the transport aircraft both forces rely on when floods, cyclones and other emergencies strike the region.