On the flight line at RAAF Base Darwin, the RAF Voyager sitting among the fighter jets of Exercise Pitch Black looks, at first glance, like the support act. It is not built to dogfight. Its job is to keep other aircraft fueled, to move people and freight across long distances, and, when needed, to carry patients home. But spend twenty minutes walking through its cabin, as a group of journalists did last week, and it becomes clear the aircraft is doing more heavy lifting in this exercise than its size in the formation might suggest.
Continue reading “Inside the Voyager: How the RAF’s tanker doubles as a flying hospital at Pitch Black”
Philippine Air Force Chief says Pitch Black Exercise central to shift toward territorial defense
Lt. Gen. Arthur Cordura, chief of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), said his visit to Exercise Pitch Black in Australia is meant to sharpen his forces’ ability to work alongside allied militaries as the country moves away from decades of internal security operations toward a broader mission of territorial defense.
Indonesia’s Golden Eagles land in Darwin for first Pitch Black deployment
A small number of Indonesian T-50 advance jet trainers are training in Darwin this month, marking the first time the unit has taken part in Exercise Pitch Black and the first time it has deployed to Australia at all. Squadron 15, based at Iswahjudi Air Base in Madiun, East Java, brought fifteen pilots for the exercise, flying two sorties a day during last week’s force integration phase, a number set to rise to four sorties daily over the next two weeks as the exercise enters its force employment phase.
Continue reading “Indonesia’s Golden Eagles land in Darwin for first Pitch Black deployment”
Philippine Air Force pilots take on new leadership role at Exercise Pitch Black 2026
For Lieutenant Colonel Mario C. Mendoza Jr., flying over northern Australia never loses its edge. As working group lead for the Philippine Air Force (PAF) contingent at Exercise Pitch Black, and an instructor pilot for the FA-50, Mendoza has spent the exercise navigating airspace far larger than anything he trains in back home.
Thai F-16s return to Pitch Black after a decade away
The smell of chicken noodle soup drifts across a stretch of tarmac at RAAF Base Darwin, competing with the scent of jet fuel. It comes from a kitchen the Royal Thai Air Force brought with it from home, staffed by cooks who start work at 3 a.m. and finish well into the afternoon, feeding nearly a hundred people three meals a day, sometimes four. It is, by the account of the officer running the detachment, one of the more important pieces of equipment his unit deployed to Australia this year.
