(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) contingent has safely arrived in Darwin, Australia today.
Three F/A-18D Hornet fighter jets and an A400M transport aircraft, along with 37 officers and 66 other ranks (ORs), were deployed to Darwin participate in Exercise Pitch Black 2024.
Exercise Pitch Black will be held at the Royal Australian Air Force bases in Darwin, Tindal, and Amberley from July 12 to August 2, 2024.
It is the largest and most significant air combat exercise hosted biennially by Australia, involving multiple nations.
RMAF has participated in this exercise three times before, in 2008, 2018, and 2022.
However, the 2022 participation only involved personnel without any assets. This year marks RMAF’s fourth participation.
The RMAF contingent for this exercise includes 37 officers and 66 ORs, with three F/A-18D Hornet fighter jets and an A400M transport aircraft.
The contingent is led by Colonel Hasfa Nyzam bin Abdul Hamid RMAF as the Head of Delegation.
This edition of the exercise will be the largest in its 43-year history, with participation from 20 countries involving 140 aircraft of various types and approximately 4,435 personnel.
Countries participating in Pitch Black 2024 include the United States, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Fiji, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, and several others.
During this exercise, RMAF will engage in the Force Integration Phase (air combat training, including Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM) and Air Combat Tactics using the Beyond Visual Range concept).
RMAF will also participate in the Large Force Employment Phase (integrating all fighter assets, Multi-Role Transport Tanker, and Command and Control (C2) to conduct Integrated Air Operation) and Air-to-Air Refueling.
RMAF’s involvement in this large-scale exercise provides new knowledge to the aircraft crew and personnel involved in planning and executing the challenging exercise.
It also contributes to enhancing operational readiness, interoperability of RMAF’s strategic assets, mastery of air warfare tactics, and improving the capacity and skills of the participating RMAF officers and personnel. – DSA