Canberra: Indian Air Force will be participating in the 17-nation biennial Exercise Pitch Black, being hosted by Australian Air Force in the Northern Territory to be commenced from August 19.
It will be for the first time that the multinational exercise will take place after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the globe for more than two years. Last time, the exercise was held in 2018.
It is pertinent to mention here that in 2018, the Indian Air Force had participated for the first time.
In that exercise, India had dispatched four Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft, one C-130 and one C-17 transport aircraft along with 145 IAF personnel to Australia via Indonesia.
In a statement, Pitch Black Exercise 2022 Director Engagement Group Captain Peter Wood said: “International participation in Exercise Pitch Black, from within the Indo-Pacific region and further abroad, provides all nations’ personnel with experience in working with aircraft, systems and work practices, in northern Australia’s unique environment, that would otherwise be unfamiliar.”
Group Captain Wood said: “Exercising with our international partners in combined air combat operations is pivotal to ensuring the Air Force remains ready to respond whenever the Australian Government requires.”
Let’s know in details about the exercise:----
Why are the Australians hosting a 17-nation exercise?
As per the Australian Air Force, it will demonstrate its commitment to building professionalism and enhancing military relationships for the safe and effective conduct of air operations with regional and partner nations.
The exercise will enhance regional security through multinational interoperability and understanding.
Participating nations
Besides Australia, air forces from countries like Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, UK and the US will be participating this time.
It should be mentioned that the air force of Germany, Japan, and the Republic of Korea will be participating fully for the first time.
In this year’s edition, a total of 100 aircraft and 2500 personnel will be participating in the three-week-long exercise.
Where will Exercise Pitch Black take place?
The exercise would take place at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin and Tindal. This year RAAF Base Amberley has also been included.
The 2020 edition of the exercise was cancelled at the last minute due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic.
