Pitching for strong Indo-American military ties, the United States has said that it is ready to support India's drive to modernize the armed forces. US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer said this while inaugurating the five-day Cope India 2009 joint air exercises in Agra. The Ambassador also allayed fears over reliability of America as a supplier of defence equipment to India. He said, the Indo-US relationship had come a long way since those apprehensions were formed and this is a different world today. Mr. Roemer said the bilateral cooperation in the spheres of energy, science and technology, agriculture, education and development and trade — all point to an even stronger relationship.<br/><br/>India has ordered for six C-130 J aircraft for its Special Forces operations and these aircraft will be based at the Hindan air base in Ghaziabad near the national capital. On the increasing scope, complexity and tempo of the<br/><br/>Indo-US military exercises, Roemer said the Cope India 2009 will be the sixth air exercise between the air forces of the two countries since 2003.