Widely credited as the Royal Australian Air Force’s most important exercise, the biennial Pitch Black was this year its largest and most complex to date. Roy Choo visits the ‘Top End’ to find out more.
Pitch Black 2018
Exercise Report
For much of August, Territorians – as the residents of Australia’s Northern Territory are known – experienced the thunderous reverberations of fast jets. During the three weeks from July 27 to August 17, the skies over the region played host to the southern hemisphere’s largest air combat manoeuvres and the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) premier exercise.
Named after the inky nights in the Outback, this year’s Exercise Pitch Black was the biggest and most complex yet. Some 4,000 personnel from 16 nations were involved, nine of which contributed a total of around 140 aircraft. These comprised host Australia, exercise regulars Singapore, Thailand and the United States, plus Canada, France, Indonesia, Malaysia and newcomer India.
Pitch Black evolution
Air Commander Australia, Air Vice- Marshal (AVM) Steve Roberton, who was participating in his 12th Pitch Black since the 1990s, described how the event has developed over the years: “In the 1990s, Pitch Black was focused o…
