Exercise Pitch Black 2024 concluded on Friday after three weeks of high-intensity modern air combat training in the skies over Australia’s top end.
The exercise involved approximately 4400 personnel and 140 aircraft from 20 nations and was the biggest Pitch Black in the exercise’s 43-year history with missions of more than 50 aircraft at a time in one of the world’s largest military training areas.
“The value of this exercise comes in the experience we’ve built with international partners, and the friendships and relationships we’ve created with them on the ground and in the air,” Air Commodore Robinson said.
Described as the exercise’s “rockstars” by Air Commodore Robinson, the Philippine contingent includes 162 personnel from the Philippine Air Force, who operate, maintain, and manage the four FA-50PH Fighting Eagle jets deployed.
The PAF contingent flew a total of 144 hours and 46 minutes flying time in 61 sorties composed various day and night missions covering Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM), Tactical Intercept (TI), Dissimilar Air Combat Tactics (DACT), and Large Force Employment (LFE) missions focusing on air interdiction, suppression of enemy air defence, defensive counter-air and offensive counter-air in a blue or red force role.
The exercise also involved participants from France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States; and embedded personnel from Brunei, Canada, Fiji, and New Zealand.
The exercise was conducted predominantly from RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal in the Northern Territory and RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland.
