The United States Air Force (USAF) and Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel watch a USAF transporter during the joint 'Exercise Cope India 2023' between USAF and IAF at Kalaikunda base

Lieutenant Colonel Bender Gifford, commanding officer of a fighter squadron of the United States Air Force (USAF) that took part in a joint exercise with Indian counterparts in West Bengal, said that the US is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

He said that Cope India 2023, which took place from April 10-24, was the largest joint air exercise between the air forces of the two nations.

The USAF officer, in an interview with PTI, said, "The exercise went well. The US is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific region and this was a great opportunity to train with our Indian Air Force (IAF) partners and collectively grow together to ensure regional stability and security."

On Japan Air Self-Defence Force being present as an observer in the exercise, Gifford said there are "many nations in the Indo-Pacific region that are aligned with the desire for security and prosperity".

The USAF officer however refused to be drawn into conversation on how the exercise may be viewed by China which has been claiming sovereignty over the South China sea, which is at the heart of the dispute over free navigation in the Indo-Pacific nation.

Many nations in South East Asia besides Japan have maritime territorial disputes with China, while India, which has been partners with US in a number of military and naval exercises, too has territorial disputes with China along its border in the high Himalayas.

China's newly appointed Defence Minister, General Li Shangfu, is slated to make his maiden visit to India later this month to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting.

Gifford said the USAF has, for the first time, brought its B-1B bombers for the Cope India exercise, along with F-15 fighter jets, and C-130J and C-17 transport aircraft from its inventory.

"I believe this was the largest exercise Cope India exercise that ever happened. The training was great and it provided an opportunity to work together with the IAF," he said.

Gifford said after the F-15s joined Cope India 2023, large force exercises were conducted with the IAF fighters, in which around 30 aircraft flew together.

The IAF fighter jets that participated in the exercise were Rafale, Tejas, Jaguar and Sukhoi-30 MKI, an IAF official said.

Gifford, who joined the USAF 17 years ago and has flown five types of fighter jets, said the exercise included a whole gambit of manoeuvres, including dogfights.

He said the exercise was concentrated in the airspace around the Kalaikunda Air Force station in Paschim Medinipur district and around 150 miles south of it.