Wing Commander U Rakhura , CO 24 Squadron 'The Hawks' prepares Capt. Pete Fesler for an SU-30K Flanker flight during Cope India '04. The exercise is the first dissimilar air combat training exercise between the air forces of the United States and India in more than 40 years. Captain Fesler, one of the first U.S. Air Force pilots to fly in a Flanker, is an F-15 Eagle aviator from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.