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Exercise Pitch Black 24 has officially wrapped up after three weeks of high-intensity training in the skies over Australia’s Top End.
The Royal Australian Air Force’s premier international engagement activity, the exercise involved approximately 4,400 personnel and 140 aircraft from 20 nations.
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It 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.
Air Commodore Pete Robinson, Officer Commanding the Exercise, said it delivered the training and engagement goals of all participating nations and strengthened relationships and friendships.
“The feedback from all international partners and our own people alike was that Exercise Pitch Black 24 was a world-class air combat training activity,” AIRCDRE Robinson said.
“More than 1,700 missions were flown in the exercise across an exercise area about the size of Great Britain.
“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.”
AIRCDRE Robinson saved special praise for his staff who activated their safety and emergency training when an Italian Air Force pilot ejected from a Typhoon aircraft on 24 July.
“We train for these scenarios as part of our safety planning, and I was pleased to see the calm, professional and quick work by our teams to ensure this positive outcome – I couldn’t be happier with how they all performed.”
Exercise Pitch Black 24 highlights included first-time participation by aircraft and personnel from the Philippines, Spain, Italy, and Papua New Guinea as well as embedded personnel from Fiji and Brunei.
The exercise also involved aircraft from France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the UK, and the US, and embedded personnel from Canada and New Zealand.
The exercise was conducted predominantly from RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal in the Northern Territory and RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland.
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