Blackout
Exercise’s dominant influence

By Andrew Stackpool

The spotlight is on FLTLT Bryce Solomon, a pilot, and LAC Lee Skipworth, an aircraft technician, from No. 77 Squadron, during operations at RAAF Base Darwin as part of Exercise Pitch Black 2004.

Photo by CPL Michelle Lucraft

EXERCISE Pitch Black 04 dominated activity and attention across the Air Force for three weeks, but its effects will be even more far reaching.

Air Commodore John Quaife, Officer Conducting the Exercise (OCE), said PB04 – held out of RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal from July 19-August 6 – would “be recognised as the catalyst for Air Force’s future direction”.

“There will be many initiatives to take up and we need to look at the lessons of what worked as well as what didn’t work. These will direct future tactics and modify both unit and individual training,” AIRCDRE Quaife said.

“The exercise had two main thrusts: first was the testing of existing procedures and second was the opportunity to explore more new areas than we have before. We found many opportunities to take Air Force forward, especially in command and control and the application of web-based targeting information at all levels of the organisation down to the cockpit.”

AIRCDRE Quaife, who is also the Joint Force Air Component Commander at the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) at RAAF Base Glenbrook, was pleased with the performance of the CAOC during the exercise.

“This was the first time the CAOC had stood up and we certainly kicked some goals. We demonstrated something outstanding and we think our allies will concur. A vital aspect was the distance of thousands of kilometres over which we operated. We established the CAOC in Glenbrook, remote from the NT, and were able to effectively run the campaign from there. It was nothing short of impressive,” he said. (Read more about the CAOC).

AIRCDRE Quaife said the relationships developed with the other participants – the French Air Force, Royal Thai Air Force and Republic of Singapore Air Force – were outstanding.

“The Thais and French fitted in well and it was a good reminder of how capable the RSAF is,” he said.

He said the nature of the exercise wasn’t about a win by the competing Red and Blue forces. The exercise was managed as an operational level campaign and for individual missions each event was set up to make Blue force members think through the mission in advance as well as testing the Red forces.

“It is fair to say everyone was a winner. Everyone had the chance to get out and have a go, then learn and improve,” AIRCDRE Quaife said.

An important factor in PB04 was the insertion of freeplay, asset removal and permanent kill protocols. The procedures worked very well and were a great process for developing individual skills.

“There’s nothing more reinforcing than being told you’ve been shot and removed from the exercise and then having to sit alone for a long time in the briefing room to think about how to do it better tomorrow,” AIRCDRE Quaife said.

About 1600 sorties were flown during PB04, providing vital training for pilots and ground crews.

AIRCDRE Quaife paid tribute to the personnel who worked hard to make the exercise work.

“Although I had the privilege of being the OCE, any event of this size and scale can’t be laid down to any individual so I can’t claim the credit for its success,” he said.

“It is an incredible testament of the organisational skills, professionalism and energy of a huge number of people and, indeed, the Air Force as a whole. We can all be justifiably proud of what we’ve achieved. People one day will look back and say, ‘I was a part of that’.”

“It is important to remember that an exercise like this is not just about the pilots and simulated combat in the air. The effort that is required to make all this happen is tremendous. Aircraft technicians, support staff, mission planners, air traffic controllers, fighter controllers, ground-based air defence staff and logistic staff all had a vital role to play in making Exercise Pitch Black work.

“For the support areas, the loggies, fuellers, caterers, truck drivers and so on, PB04 has been quite a challenge. They have risen admirably to the challenge and proved their capabilities. Overall, I’d say we have achieved some very positive outcomes for the future.”

Exercise Pitch Black involved over 1500 personnel and about 75 aircraft, as well as the Army’s 16th Air Defence Regiment.

CAF Air Marshal Angus Houston said the success of PB04 demonstrated “that we are well on the way to creating the networked Air Force of the future.”

More Pitch Black action:

That's fare enough
Now you're talking
Tindal equal to task
Darwin to the fore
Reserves' vital role
On familiar territory
Interaction a highlight of exercise
CAOC theory tested

 

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