Cope India is taking place in the face of a massive protest by communists opposed to New Delhi’s cooperation with USAF. Some 70,000 activists gathered to protest the Cope India maneuvers at the IAF’s Kalaikunda Air Base. Workers affiliated with the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) shouted slogans. Things stayed peaceful, possibly because India had deployed 800 policemen to the base.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.