Airforces

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #367 OCTOBER 2018 // 71

miles] to the south

to commence

their holding. We

then had Blue

Air launch out of

Darwin and hold

100km [62 miles]

south. Both parties,

after having topped up their

tanks, pushed on and commenced

the exercise. In all there were

some 80 fast jets and other

supporting aircraft in the airspace.”

AIRCDRE Kitcher further

illustrated the level of

sophistication in a Pitch Black

mission: “We had 50 Blue Air

fighters – supported by tankers and

AEW&C [airborne early warning

and control] – fly a mission that

was designed to escort transport

assets that were exfiltrating from

an airfield. Against about 30 Red

Air fighters that regenerated three

to four times each, we managed to

work our way down to Delamere,

conducted close air support

[CAS] with Joint Terminal Attack

Controllers on the ground, thereby

allowing us to notionally destroy

some surface-to-air missiles

[SAMs]. Once the airspace was

clear, an RAAF C-27J got airborne

and was escorted out. The exact

same scenario was happening

simultaneously in Bradshaw

with an RAAF C-17A. While

that was going on, headquarters

issued dynamic taskings to

attack various targets that were

found at very short notice. The

results of the mission were pretty

impressive, with a kill ratio of 78

to three favouring Blue Air.”

RAAF playground

Two new RAAF platforms made

their debut at Pitch Black 2018.

The first was the EA-18G Growler

operated by No 6 Squadron

based at RAAF Base Amberley,

Queensland. In previous exercises,

an electronic attack-type asset

was simulated to make up for the

lack of such a capability. With

three EA-18Gs involved in this

year’s exercise, much realism

was injected as the Growlers

were able to detect and engage

SAMs mimicked by ground-

based threat emitter systems,

ensuring the rest of the strike

package was aware of the threat.

Group Captain Rob Denney is the

officer commanding No 82 Wing,

the parent unit of No 6 Squadron.

He said: “By bringing the Growlers

to Pitch Black, we have a really

good opportunity to validate our

operating practices and procedures

outside our home base. It has

allowed us to integrate with a

large multinational force and assist

them in denying and deceiving

parts of the electromagnetic

spectrum to achieve their tactical

objectives. We find it to be an

effective exercise to develop and

miles] to the south

to commence

their holding. We

then had Blue

Air launch out of

Darwin and hold

100km [62 miles]

south. Both parties,

after having topped up their

the former by

flying defensive

counter-air (DCA).

Twice-daily

vulnerability

periods took place

over the Bradshaw

Field Training Area,

which measures 772

sq miles (2,000km^2 ), and the

adjacent, much larger, Delamere

Air Weapons Range, which is

a staggering 3,436 sq miles

(8,900km^2 ). Altogether, Pitch

Black offers an airspace that

is greater than many first-

tier international exercises.

Air Commodore ( AIRCDRE) Mike

Kitcher, officer conducting the

exercise, described how such

large volumes of unrestricted

airspace and unoccupied

bushland were put to good use

in a mission he flew in: “We had

Red Air get airborne out of Darwin

and Tindal, transiting 500km [311

F/A-18A A21-56 with No 2 OCU markings and A21-54 with No 3 Squadron markings. ‘Classic’ Hornets were the most numerous RAAF fast jets in the exercise.

They now fl y with Nos 75 and 77 Squadrons out of Tindal and Darwin respectively.

Left: A Su-30MKI of the Indian Air Force’s 102 Squadron fl ies in unrestricted airspace over the Northern Territory’s vast

unoccupied bushland. Serial SB307 was one of four IAF ‘Flankers’ deployed to Exercise Pitch Black 2018. Below: The

RMAF’s No 18 Skuadron made a return to Pitch Black after a ten-year hiatus with fi ve of its eight F/A-18D Hornets. Some of

them, including M45-06, have traded their familiar gunship grey paint for a lighter scheme. All photos Roy Choo unless stated

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