Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base is a base of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) in northeast Thailand, approximately 200 km (125 mi) northeast of Bangkok and about 4 km (2.5 mi) south of the centre of the city of Nakhon Ratchasima in the Nakhon Ratchasima Province (also known as "Khorat" or "Korat"), the largest province in Thailand.

Cope Tiger involves air forces from the United States, Thailand, and Singapore, as well as U.S. Marine Corps aircraft deployed from Japan.

Over the last few years, Cope Tiger has widened to include CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) assets and in 2007 for the first time RTAFB Udon Thani was also used as a base during this exercise.

The origins of Korat Air Base dates back to the Japanese Occupation of Thailand during World War II.

[2] The United States Army Corps of Engineers were deployed and established a headquarters at the RTAF airfield that later became Korat RTAFB.

The Geneva Accords of 1962 ended the immediate threat, but both Camp Friendship and Korat RTAFB were developed as part of the buildup of forces in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

[2] The USAF mission at Korat RTAFB began in April 1962, when one officer and 14 airmen were temporarily assigned to the existing base as the joint US Military Advisory Group (JUSMAG).

[3] South of the existing runway, construction of a large air base was begun to support a full USAF combat wing.

During the Vietnam War, pilots from Korat RTAFB primarily flew interdiction, direct air support, armed reconnaissance, and fighter escort missions.

The 44th would rotate pilots and personnel to Korat on a Temporary duty assignment (TDY) basis from 18 December 1964 – 25 February 1965, 21 April–22 June 1965 and 10–29 October 1965.

[3] Known deployed squadrons to Korat attached to the 6234th TFW were: On 3 April 1965 the 67th TFS launched the first unsuccessful US airstrike against the Thanh Hóa Bridge.

[3] After a series of TDY deployments of F-105s to Korat, on 14 March 1966 the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing was activated and on 8 April was organised to replace the provisional PACAF 6234th TFW which was inactivated.

The conversion of USAFE units to the F-4D Phantom enabled some of the European-based F-105Ds to be transferred to Southeast Asia, but this was not sufficient to offset the heavy attrition rate.

The squadron's primary mission became one of flying escort to the wing's regular strike force to suppress anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) and surface-to-air missile (SAM).

[19]: 112–3 The Wild Weasel concept was originally proposed in 1965 as a method of countering the increasing North Vietnamese SAM threat, using volunteer crews.

On 23 April 1967 the 44th TFS's primary mission became one of flying escort to the wing's regular strike force to suppress AAA and SAM fire as a Wild Weasel squadron.

The squadron had a minimum of two aircraft airborne 24 hours a day directing and coordinating the effective employment of tactical air resources throughout Southeast Asia.

Congressional pressure in Washington grew against these bombings, and on 30 June 1973, the United States Congress passed Public law PL 93-50 and 93-52, which cut off all funds for combat in Cambodia and all of Indochina effective 15 August 1973.

The 388th TFW entered into intensive training program to maintain combat readiness and continued to fly electronic surveillance and intelligence missions.

Commando Scrimmage covered skills such as dogfighting, aerial refuelling, airborne command posts and forward air controllers.

These missions were flown as a deterrent to North Vietnam as a signal that if the Paris Peace Accords were broken, the United States would use its air power to enforce its provisions.

[4]: 139 On 14–15 May 1975, aircraft assigned to Korat provided air cover in what is considered the last battle of the Vietnam war, the recovery of the SS Mayaguez after it was hijacked by the Khmer Rouge.

[4]: 154 With the fall of both Cambodia and South Vietnam in April 1975,[27] the political climate between Washington and the government of PM Sanya Dharmasakti had soured.

After the US withdrawal in 1976, the RTAF consolidated the equipment left by the departing USAF units in accordance with government-to-government agreements, and assumed use of the base at Korat.

The American withdrawal had quickly revealed to the Thai Government the inadequacy of its air force in the event of a conventional war in Southeast Asia.

By the late 1980s, Korat, Takhli, and Don Muang RTAFB outside Bangkok, which was shared with civil aviation, were the primary operational holdings of the RTAF.

The facility was initially set up as a forward operating base for equipment storage of the 25th Infantry Division, which would have deployed to Thailand in the event of invasion.

[29][31] The group constructed the Bangkok By-Pass Road, a 95 km asphalt highway between Chachoengsao and Kabin Buri, which was opened in February 1966.

[30] As soon as the Bangkok bypass road paving was completed, Company B moved to Sattahip to begin construction of Camp Vayama, a 1,000-man troop cantonment area which would eventually become part of a vast port and logistical complex.

The 388th Tactical Fighter Wing used those parts of Camp Friendship for overflow of personnel assigned or deployed to it until the USAF turned Korat Air Base over to the RTAF in early 1976.