Page 34 - Defence Industry Guide #57

34 NEWS
ADM’s Defence Industry Guide 2023 | Edition 57 | www.defencesuppliers.com.au
THUNDER IN THE TOP END
WORDS & IMAGES BY NIGEL PITTAWAY | RAAF BASE TINDAL & DARWIN
AFTER the 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the southern hemisphere’s premier air combat exercise has returned to Australia’s Top End.
Centred around RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal in the Northern Territory, Exercise Pitch Black 2022 was the larg- est in the biennial series to date, with around 100 combat aircraft from 11 nations taking part.
Including observers, 2,500 personnel from 17 nations par- ticipated in Exercise Pitch Black 22, which Defence says is aimed at enhancing interoperability and developing strong military relationships between the militaries of countries taking part.
“With 17 nations participating, Exercise Pitch Black will allow the RAAF to work with our allies and partners, shar- ing tactics and procedures that will enhance interoperability between our forces,” commented Exercise Commander Air Commodore Tim Alsop.
“Pitch Black is a large force employment exercise driven by fighter combat scenarios. This year, significant efforts have been made to advance the air-to-air refuelling (AAR) capability of the participating nations.”
ABOVE: Republic of Singapore Air Force crews prepare aircraft for a night mission
This saw no fewer than seven Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transports (including two RAAF KC-30As participat- ing with two US Marine Corps KC-130J Hercules tankers to enable large forces of combat aircraft to do battle each day.
Pitch Black 2022 was also significant in that it marked the debut of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, with both the RAAF (Darwin) and the US Marine Corps (Tindal) participating with the F-35A and F-35B respectively.
Perhaps reflecting the escalating tensions within the Indo- Pacific region, now fewer than four air arms (from Germany, Japan, South Korea and NATO) participated with aircraft
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RIGHT: A NATO MMF A330 MRTT at Exercise Pitch Black 22