For the first time, air forces from all four Quad nations — India, the United States, Japan, and Australia — will come together for a shared aerial engagement under the banner of Exercise Cope India, slated to begin in the first week of November.
While India and the United States will lead the primary flight operations, Japan and Australia will join as observers, marking a significant step toward completing the air domain component of Quad military coordination.
It will be Australia’s debut participation in Cope India and Japan’s second appearance as an observer. The development underscores the Quad’s growing focus on integrated military preparedness, expanding its cooperation beyond the maritime and land domains into comprehensive air power coordination.
Parallel Drills in Air and Sea
The timing of Cope India lines up with the Malabar 2025 naval exercise, hosted this year by the US near Guam, a strategic Pacific base. The Indian Navy’s INS Sahyadri is scheduled to join warships from the other Quad countries in exercises expected to cover anti-submarine warfare, air defence, and complex surface operations.
Launched initially as a bilateral US-India exercise in the early 1990s, Malabar has grown into a key venue for multilateral naval training, featuring shared platforms, compatible surveillance systems, and joint operational planning across the Indo-Pacific.
Cope India, on the other hand, has evolved more gradually, from airlift and mobility drills to large-force engagement and advanced fighter training. The addition of Japan and Australia reflects a broader alignment of Quad capabilities, particularly in domains such as early warning, air surveillance, and coordinated response
AUSTRAHIND Strengthens Land Force Ties
While air and naval elements of the Quad gather in the Pacific, India and Australia are continuing their bilateral army exercise, AUSTRAHIND 2025, which began on October 13 in Perth. This year’s edition focuses on joint operations in urban and semi-urban terrain, with both sides working on counter-terrorism tactics, room-clearing drills, and simulated peacekeeping missions under UN frameworks.
The exercise also includes structured exchanges on operational experience and field-level decision-making, with the aim of improving coordination in live deployments. In addition to the tactical work, the two armies engage in cultural exchanges and shared routines to build trust and long-term familiarity.
Strategic Timing Ahead of Quad Summit
The overlapping timelines of Cope India, Malabar, and AUSTRAHIND are not unexpected. All three exercises are taking place just weeks ahead of the expected Quad Leaders’ Summit, where defence cooperation and regional security are expected to feature prominently on the agenda.
Although the Quad is not a formal defence alliance, joint activities like these allow the four countries to test their ability to respond collectively to shared challenges. They also demonstrate a pattern of increasing defence engagement despite other areas of friction, such as ongoing trade disputes between India and the US.
Shared platforms, interoperable systems, and regular joint training have made it easier for the Quad militaries to cooperate across domains, even without treaty-based obligations. These exercises help create common procedures and build familiarity between personnel, both of which are essential for future joint operations, whether in humanitarian response, maritime surveillance, or conflict scenarios.
With all three branches of the military now involved in structured Quad activities, the scope of coordination is broader than at any previous point. While full integration is not the objective, the exercises reflect a clear direction: enhancing the ability of four Indo-Pacific partners to act together, when necessary, without needing to start from the beginning.
Source - Bharat Shakthi
While India and the United States will lead the primary flight operations, Japan and Australia will join as observers, marking a significant step toward completing the air domain component of Quad military coordination.
It will be Australia’s debut participation in Cope India and Japan’s second appearance as an observer. The development underscores the Quad’s growing focus on integrated military preparedness, expanding its cooperation beyond the maritime and land domains into comprehensive air power coordination.
Parallel Drills in Air and Sea
The timing of Cope India lines up with the Malabar 2025 naval exercise, hosted this year by the US near Guam, a strategic Pacific base. The Indian Navy’s INS Sahyadri is scheduled to join warships from the other Quad countries in exercises expected to cover anti-submarine warfare, air defence, and complex surface operations.
Launched initially as a bilateral US-India exercise in the early 1990s, Malabar has grown into a key venue for multilateral naval training, featuring shared platforms, compatible surveillance systems, and joint operational planning across the Indo-Pacific.
Cope India, on the other hand, has evolved more gradually, from airlift and mobility drills to large-force engagement and advanced fighter training. The addition of Japan and Australia reflects a broader alignment of Quad capabilities, particularly in domains such as early warning, air surveillance, and coordinated response
AUSTRAHIND Strengthens Land Force Ties
While air and naval elements of the Quad gather in the Pacific, India and Australia are continuing their bilateral army exercise, AUSTRAHIND 2025, which began on October 13 in Perth. This year’s edition focuses on joint operations in urban and semi-urban terrain, with both sides working on counter-terrorism tactics, room-clearing drills, and simulated peacekeeping missions under UN frameworks.
The exercise also includes structured exchanges on operational experience and field-level decision-making, with the aim of improving coordination in live deployments. In addition to the tactical work, the two armies engage in cultural exchanges and shared routines to build trust and long-term familiarity.
Strategic Timing Ahead of Quad Summit
The overlapping timelines of Cope India, Malabar, and AUSTRAHIND are not unexpected. All three exercises are taking place just weeks ahead of the expected Quad Leaders’ Summit, where defence cooperation and regional security are expected to feature prominently on the agenda.
Although the Quad is not a formal defence alliance, joint activities like these allow the four countries to test their ability to respond collectively to shared challenges. They also demonstrate a pattern of increasing defence engagement despite other areas of friction, such as ongoing trade disputes between India and the US.
Shared platforms, interoperable systems, and regular joint training have made it easier for the Quad militaries to cooperate across domains, even without treaty-based obligations. These exercises help create common procedures and build familiarity between personnel, both of which are essential for future joint operations, whether in humanitarian response, maritime surveillance, or conflict scenarios.
With all three branches of the military now involved in structured Quad activities, the scope of coordination is broader than at any previous point. While full integration is not the objective, the exercises reflect a clear direction: enhancing the ability of four Indo-Pacific partners to act together, when necessary, without needing to start from the beginning.
Source - Bharat Shakthi
