Despite 7000 nautical miles separating the Northern Territory and Europe, Exercise Pitch Black continues to draw European participants. Five nations made the trek to the Southern Hemisphere for Exercise Pitch Black 2024, representing both the largest European contingent in the exercise’s history alongside highlighting Europe’s growing strategic interest in the Indo-Pacific region.
France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom joined eleven other nations for the three week exercise running from the 12th July to 2nd August.
Italy
Italy made its first-ever appearance at Pitch Black and delivered one of the most substantial European contingents. Both the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) and Italian Navy (Marina Militare) attended with a wide array of aircraft based both on land and at sea. Three Aeronautica Militare fast jet variants were present with four Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon, six F-35A Lightning II and two F-35B Lightning II. Italy notably operates the -B variant in both the Air Force and Navy, providing the Air Force with a fast jet platform cable of austere operations. On the 24th of July, a F-2000A was lost during the exercise with the pilot safely ejecting over the Douglas-Daly region.
A single Gulfstream E-550A CAEW from 71° Gruppo assisted in providing airspace battle management capabilities. Housing the EL/W-2085 multi-band radar system, the airborne early warning and control platform joined the Singaporean CAEW (locally designed at the G550-AEEW) alongside the Australian E-7A and Japanese E-767 platforms.
Another first in the exercise’s 43-year history, the inclusion of an aircraft carrier was provided by the flagship of the Marina Militare), the ITS Cavour. Assigned to the Gruppo Aerei Imbarcati (GRUPAER), AV-8B Harrier II and F-35B Lightning II aircraft made the journey to Australian waters. Whilst the F-35B’s remained embarked onboard the Cavour for the duriation of the exercise, the AV-8B’s deployed to RAAF Base Darwin.
The ITS Cavour Carrier Strike Group also included the Bergamini-class frigate ITS Alpino with the five-month deployment visiting numerous ports through Asia and the Middle East including Guam, India, Japan, Singapore, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The Italian Navy stole the show at the Mindil Beach Flying Display with a multitude of passes and hovering display at the sunset showcase.
Spain
Another debutant at Pitch Black, the Spanish Air and Space Force (Ejército del Aire y del Espacio) deployed four Eurofighter Typhoons. Locally designated as the C.16 Tifón, the Typhoons deployed with a mixture of aircraft and crews from both 111 Escuadrón and Ala 14, 142 Escuadrón.
Arriving on the weekend following the first flying week of the exercise, a quick turnaround saw aircraft operating throughout the remainder of the exercise.
Germany
Building on their 2022 debut, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) returned with five Eurofighter Typhoons from Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader 71 based at Wittmundhafen Air Base. These aircraft joined their Spanish counterparts as part of Pacific Skies 24 (see below).
France
In their third consectuvie appearance, the French Air and Space Force Three deployed three Dassault Rafale B alongside A330 MRTT and A-400M aircraft. In an effort to expand their projection capabilities, the French have developed an annual mission known as PEGASE. First operated in 2018, PEGASE focuses on long-range deployment aimed to enhance air diplomacy strengthened partnerships and cooperation between air forces.
These deployments have previously included long-range power projection with Dassault Rafales to New Caledonia in 2022 (in 72 hours), and to Singapore and Malaysia in 2023 (in 36 hours). 2024 saw a ‘two-pronged approach’ to reaching Australia: 1. Pacific Skies 24 — Joint deployment alongside Germany and Spain via a westbound route via North America (see below); 2. Griffin Strike — Long-range power projection via an eastbound route via the Middle East.
United Kingdom
Returning to the Asia-Pacifc region for the third time in as many years, six Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 completed the lineup as the fourth Eurofighter operator at the exercise. Operated by XI (F) Squadron, who were in the region during the Malaysian and Singaporean based Exercise Bersama Lima in 2023, the Typhoons were supported by a single Voyager (A330 MRTT).
NATO MMU
The MMU is a pooled group of A330 MRTT aircraft funded by Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The fleet of nine aircraft based out of Eindhoven Air Base (Netherlands) and Cologne-Bonn Air Base (Germany) provided air-to-air refuelling, airlift and medical evacuation capabilities.
On the 30th of July, we joined the NATO Multinational MRTT Unit (MMU) at RAAF Base Amberley for an air-to-air refuelling sortie. Departing onboard T-059 ‘MIXR19’, we proceeded to the Tindal Western Airspace where the asset provided support for the Italian Navy with a pair of AV-8B Harrier IIs and quartet of F-35B Lightning IIs.
Due to the expansion of the exercise, RAAF Base Amberley has become an important base for Pitch Black with the majority of refuelling assets stationed there. A pair of MMU MRTTs remained at RAAF Base Amberley throughout the duration of the exercise joining a large refuelling pool of aircraft including MRTTs operated by Australia, France, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The lone exemption was the inclusion of the Italian Air Force KC-767.
Pacific Skies
Three nations and over 40 aircraft — France, Germany and Spain — joined forces for Pacific Skies 24, demonstrating the interoperability between the three nations to provide seamless logistics across four continents. Running from the 27th June to 15th August, Pacific Skies encompassed five exercises; Arctic Thunder (Alaska, US), RIMPAC (Hawaii, US), Nippon Skies (Japan), Pitch Black (Australia) and Tarang Shakti (India) alongside stopovers in Canada, Malaysia and United Arab Emirates.
“By participating in Pacific Skies 24, we as Europeans are showing presence in a part of the world that is of great importance to all of us. We will deploy to the Indo-Pacific region together with Spain and France and take part in five different exercises.” — Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, Chief of German Air Force
The Aviation Studio would like to extend their thanks to the team at Defence Media, French Air and Space Force, German Air Force, Italian Navy, NATO Multinational MRTT Unit and Spanish Air and Space Force for their support in producing this article and granting access to their respective units.
