Hundreds of spectators turned up at the Mindil Beach, Darwin for the biggest flypast in Exercise Pitch Black’s history on Thursday where the Indian Air Force carried out a joint exercise with the Royal Australian Air Force.
More than 40 aircraft flew past spectators on the iconic Northern Territory locality in a mixture of formation and single flights before the evening concluded with an F/A-18 Hornet display from the Newcastle-based No 77 Squadron.
Air Commodore (AIRCDRE) 'Noddy' Sawade, Director Airshows, said the 90-minute air display featured 16 different aircraft types from Australia, France, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the United States.
Featuring up to 4000 personnel and up to 140 aircraft from 15 participating nations, Exercise Pitch Black aims to further develop offensive counter air, air-land integration, and intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities, as well as foster international co-operation with partner forces. Source: © Commonwealth of Australia 2018
“As an Air Force, we really get a kick out of showing people what we do for a living and to do that at Pitch Black with our mates from other nations is even better.
“Tonight we saw rarely seen combinations with the French Rafales and Thai Gripens paired up, and two Singaporean F-16s and a KC-135 conducting a fighter/tanker flypast.
“A rare event was the four Indian Sukhoi Su-30s and four F/A-18F Super Hornets which flew in formation for the first time, and the United States Marine Corps Ospreys also put on a spectacular handling display right in front of the crowd.”
Taking to Twitter, the IAF wrote, “A flypast featuring Indian, Australian & Military aircraft of other participating air forces, mesmerized the audience at Mindil Beach, Darwin, 02 Aug 18. The IAF 4xSu-30MKI (Flankers) teamed up with RAAF 4xF-18F (Super Hornets), for the show.”
The RAAF also posted a mesmerising 360-degree video footage of the flight.
For the first time ever, Royal Australia Air Force (RAAF) and Indian Air Force (IAF) fast-jets flew together over Australian soil at Exercise Pitch Black 2018 on Thursday. Before taking the maiden flight together, members of the Indian and Australian contingents trained alongside to build a cohesive combat team.
Tweeting a video of the exercise, the IAF wrote, “# ExPitchBlack18: During the FIT week, RAAF & IAF trained together to build a cohesive combat team. Air to Air Refueling offers Rapid Response, Larger Ranges & Enhanced Loiter Time. Glimpses of AAR from Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) - RAAF's KC30A to IAF's SU-30MKI.”
Exercise Pitch Black is the Royal Australian Air Force’s largest and most complex exercise. Pitch Black 2018 is being conducted at RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal Source: © Commonwealth of Australia 2018
Operation Pitch Black, one of the biggest exercises of its kinds, is till August 17. More than 140 aircraft and 4000 personnel from 16 countries are participating in the Operation Pitch Black in Australia.
The Indian contingent in Australia is being led by Group Captain CUV Rao and includes a Garud Team, four SU-30 MKI, one XC-130 and an XC-17 aircraft.
Source: Twitter/Indian Air Force
