(a) whether India has been invited by the US for multination Alaska Military exercise;
(b) if so, the fields of joint exercise undertaken; and
(c) the view of the Government in regard to technical cooperation in Defence research, development and production jointly?
MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI GEORGE FERNANDES)
(a) Yes, Sir. India participated in Exercise Cooperative Cope Thunder - 03, a multilateral exercise conducted in Alaska during June 5-20, 2003.
(b) The Indian Air Force took part in the air transport operations with an IL-76 aircraft.
(c) As a part of the on-going interaction between Ministry of Defence, Government of India and Department of Defence, United States, possibility of cooperation in R&D is being discussed by the two countries as a part of deliberations in Defence Policy Group (DPG) and Joint Technical Group (JTG) meetings.