USAF F-35s Fly from Philippines for First Time During Cope Thunder Exercise

U.S. Air Force F-35s recently operated from the Philippines for the first time ever as part of the latest edition of the Cope Thunder exercise. 

The fighters from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, flew alongside FA-50 jets, A-29 light attack planes, and helicopters from the Philippine Air Force during the exercise, which began July 7 and ends July 18. The jets were based out of Basa Air Base and focused on the country’s northern Luzon region—the part of the Philippines closest to Taiwan. 

In a brief release marking the start of the exercise, Pacific Air Forces stated that “Cope Thunder exercises aim to facilitate bilateral fighter training with the Philippine Air Force, enhancing Alliance readiness and combined interoperability among participating forces.” 

Images shared by PACAF show U.S. and Filipino Airmen sharing expertise on everything from airfield management to maintenance to refueling. 

Yet it was the F-35s’ presence that marked the biggest milestone for the exercise.  

As recently as a few years ago, the U.S. had never sent a fifth-generation fighter to the Philippines. That changed in March 2023, when American F-22s landed at Clark Air Base for the first time. In 2024, the U.S. Marine Corps sent F-35B fighters for to train out of Clark as well. But this month’s Cope Thunder marked the first time that U.S. F-35As have flown out of the Philippines, one of the U.S.’s closest allies in southeast Asia, where China has sought to assert its growing influence. 

The Philippines is quietly increasing its ties to the self-governing island of Taiwan in a significant departure from past policy amid clashes over Beijing’s claims to the South China Sea, The Washington Post reported earlier this week.

Cope Thunder is just one in a series of exercises across the Pacific the U.S. Air Force is flying in this summer. In the past two weeks alone, the service has sent forces to Talon Shield and Talisman Sabre, bilateral exercises with Australia; started the latest Red Flag-Alaska session; and kicked off high-level department exercises in Mobility Guardian and Resolute Force Pacific.