What is Exercise Pitch Black?
When is Exercise Pitch Black?
How much is Exercise Pitch Black expected to
inject into the Northern Territory Community?
What objectives do Exercise Participants
have of the Exercise?
Where is Exercise Pitch Black happening?
What times will the aircraft be flying?
What aircraft are taking part in the exercise?
What environmental responsibilities does Defence have with
this exercise?
Where can I get more information?
What
is Exercise Pitch Black?
Exercise
Pitch Black is Australia's largest Air Combat exercise and
is held approximately every two years. Exercise Pitch Black
provides exercise participants high complexity Air Combat
training and allows Australian and its international friends
to train together.
The
way this is done is to divide the forces into 'enemy' and
'friendly' teams. The aim for the 'enemy' is to launch simulated
attacks on targets, and escape unharmed. For the 'friendly'
team their job is to identify the 'enemy' and to do everything
they can to 'kill' them, or even just stop them from entering
the target areas.
At
the same time Air Defence Officers perfect their skills
in feeding information to fighter pilots from a picture
of the entire battlespace, taken from ground-based and airborne
radars and sensors.
The
'enemy' forces will also face a threat from below in the
form of Ground-Based Air Defence missiles, from the Army,
which will be deployed around some of the designated targets.
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When is Exercise Pitch Black?
In
2004, Exercise Pitch Black will be held between the 19th
of July and the 5th of August, with flying concluding on
the 5th of August.
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How much is Exercise Pitch Black expected
to inject into the Northern Territory Community?
Exercise
Pitch Black is expected to be worth approximately $7 million
to the Northern Territory community.
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What
objectives do Exercise Participants have of the Exercise?
Participating
nations identify the Pitch Black Exercise as an opportunity
to demonstrate their capacity to participate and contribute
in a multi-national defence exercise, across cultures and
across regions. Participating personnel see the Exercise
as an opportunity for goodwill and cooperation, whilst at
the same time demonstrating their capacity to operate effectively
in an international environment.
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Where is Exercise Pitch Black happening?
Aircraft
participating in the exercise will be based at both RAAF
Base Tindal, near Katherine, and RAAF Base Darwin in the
Northern Territory, Australia. Exercise flying is planned
to take place either over the ocean or in the airspace south
west of Katherine and Delamere.
RAAF
Base Darwin will host aircraft and personnel from the Royal
Australian Air Force, the Singaporean Air Force the French
Air Force and the Royal Thai Air Force. RAAF Base Tindal
will be home to aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force.
Royal
Australian Air Force Air Defence ground based radars will
be deployed to the Northern Territory region to provide
the 'big picture' for air surveillance and fighter control.
Surface-to-air missile batteries from the Army's 16th Air
Defence Regiment and the Republic of Singapore Air Force
will be situated around the Tindal area and will form Exercise
Pitch Black's ground based air defence.
About
120 personnel at RAAF Base Glenbrook in Sydney will coordinate
the tasking for aircraft involved in Pitch Black by forming
a Combined Air Operations Centre, responsible for coordinating
all of the elements involved in an air war.
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What times will the aircraft be flying?
Exercise
Pitch Black flying is currently scheduled to occur between
approximately 8am and 10.30pm Monday to Friday, with no
planned exercise flying on Saturday and Sunday. There may
be normal military flying on Saturdays and Sundays in support
of other activities but this will not be part of Exercise
Pitch Black.
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What aicraft will be taking part in the
exercise
Please
click here for a list of
aircraft and ground-based assets participating in Exercise
Pitch Black.
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What environmental responsibilities
does Defence have with this exercise?
Minimising
impact on the environment is a responsibility that Defence
takes seriously and was taken into account when planning
for Pitch Black. An Environmental Management Plan was
developed for the exercise which details mitigating
actions including (but not exclusively):
