Cobra Gold 2025 military exercise officially opens

Multilateral exercise co-hosted annually by Royal Thai Armed Forces and US Indo-Pacific Command

Gen Songwit Noonpakdee, Thailand’s Chief of Defence Forces, along with US Ambassador to Thailand Robert F Godec and Gen Ronald Clark, commander of US Army Pacific, presided over the opening ceremony of the Cobra Gold 2025 military exercise at Ruam Roeng Chai training field inside Suranaree Camp, Nakhon Ratchasima, on Tuesday. Ambassadors and high-ranking officials from participating countries also attended the ceremony.

Cobra Gold is one of the oldest and largest multinational military exercises in Southeast Asia, co-hosted annually by the Royal Thai Armed Forces and US Indo-Pacific Command. 

This year marks the 44th iteration of the exercise, with seven key participating nations: Thailand, the United States, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Malaysia.

Additionally, China and India are participating in a humanitarian assistance programme. Meanwhile, Australia is joining the exercise in the command and control (C2) segment.

Furthermore, 10 countries are participating as part of the Multinational Planning Augmentation Team (MPAT), while another 10 countries are joining as observer nations, bringing the total number of participating countries to 30, with more than 8,194 personnel involved.

Cobra Gold 2025 consists of three main components. The Command and Control Exercise (C2X) takes place from February 24 to March 7, focusing on staff-level training following a multilateral military decision-making process. This year, the exercise will introduce new dimensions related to cyber and space operations, ensuring modernised training to address emerging threats effectively.

The Humanitarian Civic Assistance (HCA) programme began on February 6 and runs until March 7, focusing on the construction of five multi-purpose buildings in areas under the 1st and 2nd Army Regions. 

It also includes humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) training, designed to enhance preparedness for natural disasters and emergency situations. The field exercises will simulate real-life scenarios such as collapsed building rescues, water rescues, firefighting, and hazardous-material management.

The Field Training Exercise (FTX) conducted from February 24 to March 7 incorporates more complex and realistic joint and combined operations. It will be based on the combined joint all domain operations (CJADO) concept, a strategic approach integrating operations across all domains. 

The training will utilise an All-Domain Effects Coordination Centre (ADECC) to link sensor systems and unit tracking, along with simulation technologies to create real-time operational scenarios.

(2025/02/25-00:00)