Pitch Black: Up to 100 fighter jets will take to the skies for the RAAF’s biennial event
The Top End will get extremely loud when the RAAF’s Exercise Pitch Black flyover at Mindil Beach kicks off. Here’s what to expect and when to look skyward.
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AIRCRAFT capable of flying faster than the speed of sound will soar above Mindil Beach on Thursday afternoon and for the first time ever the biennial flyover will include an Australian F35.
As a collective, 17 nations from around the globe will flaunt their impressive jets and special skills required to perform intricate manoeuvres for Pitch Black.
Returning after 2018, it will be Flight Lieutenant Matt’s second time participating in the highly anticipated event, this time he will be cruising in a RAAF F35 on Thursday night.
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“We really love coming to Darwin to participate in exercises like Pitch Black, it’s great participating and engaging with the other nations,” Matt said.
Spectators can expect to see the F35 fly as slow as 200km/h and up to 1000km/h but unfortunately its maximum supersonic speed 1.6 Mach will not be displayed.
German Lieutenant Colonel Wolfram Weichert who has been flying for 20 years, will be flying the Eurofighter Typhoon as part of the exercise on Thursday night.
“The remarkable thing about this exercise is that we can practice with partners that are not really available in Europe, for instance, South Korea and Japan,” Cl Weichert said.
“We are happy to participate and very proud to participate in this special event here for Darwin.”
Event organisers urge people planning to watch the Pitch Black exercise to arrive at Mindil Beach well before the 5pm flight start time on Thursday.
More than 20 aircraft will conduct the flyover display on Thursday afternoon including 12 different fighter aircraft, three refuelling planes, a US Marine Osprey and an Australian F35.
TIP: The aircraft will also be visible from the East Point and Fannie Bay waterfront area but won’t be as spectacular to watch mid-air as the Mindil Beach main centre point.
OPEN DAY - OPPORTUNITY TO GET CLOSE
Not only do Territorians get to sight these speedy fighters in their air but have the opportunity to get up close and personal with them on Saturday too.
RAAF Darwin will hold an open day for the public from 9am to 4pm on Saturday.
Visitors need to park at the Darwin showground where they can then hop on a free shuttle bus that will take them to and from the air force Base.
Or, alternatively anyone can catch the public route 8 bus and get off at the Stuart Hwy Water at the front of the Air force base.
Walk-ins are not allowed due to safety.
Air Commodore Micka Gray was ecstatic to once again provide two “great” community events; the Mindil Beach Pitch Black fly-past and the Open Day on Saturday.
“All day during the Open Day, we’ll have all the Pitch Black aircraft on ground for display where the public will be able to get up close to the aircraft and meet the aircrews from the 17 countries,” Cmdre Gray said.
“We’ll also have food and military working dogs displays and other Military equipment too.”
Pitch Black international participants arrive
THE RAAF will deploy their elite F-35 Lightning II for the first time in a major military training drill when Exercise Pitch Black blasts takes-off over Darwin and Katherine on Monday.
With a price tag per fighter in excess of $120m, the Lightnings will be the marque aircraft among almost 100 fighters jangling nerves across the Top End for the next three weeks.
Known as much for extreme levels of engine noise as much as its aeronautical capability, the federal government has procured about 50 Lightnings from Lockheed Martin since procurement began in the mid-2000s.
The F-35s will be among almost 100 fighters from 17 countries participating in Pitch Black – a biennial showcase of some of the allied world’s airborne and tactical capacity.
RAAF Air Commodore Tim Alsop said the event was not about testing capability and not annoying the Chinese.
In fact the Exercise Pitch Black director said as recently as 2014, China attended Pitch Black in an observer status.
“History has shown that coalitions and like-minded nations have come together in all sorts of ways so it’s very important people understand how we operate,” Air Commodore Alsop said.
“Pitch Black is not focused on any particular situation. It’s about bringing like-minded nations together, practising our interoperability in an unusual or complex international mix of forces, and then conducting operations effectively and safely.
“These are fictional scenarios that change every day. Crews will go through a cycle where a team comes together for a full day of planning.
“They work out how they’re going to get a number of aircraft out of Darwin safely and back, how they're going to manage the fuel, the time and the problem. The scenarios change each day.”
As well as the RAAF, participating air force are Canada, New Zealand, UK, France, Indonesia, India, Netherlands, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and the US.
Former combat enemies of Australia – Japan and Germany – will participate for the first time as well as South Korea.
“We could not be more excited about the German Air force coming out,” Air Commodore Alsop said.
“Speaking to the German chief yesterday he commented on the scale and the size of the training air space and the training ranges that we have.
“The size of the aerospace in the Northern Territory is the size of a European nation and something that can’t be replicated in many countries. We love the fact Australia can offer that opportunity to partner nations and we can learn so much.”
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