Hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force, Exercise Pitch Black will see up to 100 aircraft and around 2500 personnel from 17 nations training together for three weeks, say the RAF here.
We reported earlier this week that about 100 aircraft and 2500 military personnel from 17 nations will arrive in Australia’s Northern Territory in mid-August to commence Exercise Pitch Black 2022.
“During the exercise the RAF contingent will join European NATO Allies from France and Germany to exercise with Royal Australian Air Force aircraft and also aircraft from regional powers such as Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore. The RAF Typhoons from 6 Squadron flew from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus and were Air-to-Air refuelled en-route by a RAF Voyager tanker which also carried support aviators and equipment. The 8600 nautical mile journey, which included overnight stops in the United Arab Emirates, India and Singapore, was also supported by an Atlas transport aircraft.”
Wing Commander Rees, Officer Commanding 6 Squadron, was quoted as saying:
“The relationship between the RAF and Royal Australian Air Force is a close and enduring one and we’re delighted to be invited to participate in what promises to be a very realistic and challenging exercise. The high-end training and complex exercise environment offered by Pitch Black combined with the opportunity to share best practise with so many other partners and allies is invaluable. Our presence here is also a further demonstration of the UK’s longstanding commitment to deepening cooperation and engagement in the Indo-Pacific.”
Cracking picture, noticed the red light . When I did my CSB course, we were taught a little ditty in which learn our Port from our Starboard:
“Is there any Red port left?”
That is a good little memory trick. We didn’t use the terms starboard and port in the USAF so I came up with “She turned Red and left.” to help me remember.
That may have been wishful thinking. Anyway, was there any?
A little red port left in the bottle….
SB,
I do believe it is in ref to how the bottle (of Port) is always passed to the the left at formal dinners and for me It was the custom to always fill the glass of the person on the left. Funny enough I was also banned from doing Mr Vice as I would always volunteer to do it.
I must of grown up around different kinds of people. It was have a puff and pass the joint to the left. 😂😂
I have a vague memory of late night port and Vimto being drunk when working at an army cadet centre.
So back on topic I guessing that lights on the port side will be red and the other side green.
You volunteered?
Mark Franks wrote:
When I was posted to Duss. I loved it, but the GSM who at first was more than happy for me to do so, stated (quite correctly I should add) that I was denying the younger and newly promoted Sgts from partaking from a right of passage. That said didnt stop me from playing pranks on them
I was 3 line whipped by the CMC and was Mr Vice the one and only time, we polished off all the port and smoked all the fags( well smoking was acceptable in those days). The next morning I had one of the worst hangovers.
Although initially it sounds completely wrong I’ve always thought that “red right returning” is a very useful memory aid in that it’s saying that if you (the observer) see the red light on the right then that vessel is “returning”, i.e. coming towards you, which in certain crisis situations might well be the most immediate consideration.
Four jets is very good considering how many other commitments we currently have. I still wish we could have some Tranche 4s to boost our air power. Regardless, I’m pleased to see that all the British Typhoons are being properly equipped, with the new AESA radar as well as all having the PIRATE. I remember discovering last week that the Germans decided not to fit it.
Are you sure all the RAF Typhoons will be getting the AESA radar upgrade? Last I heard, only the Tranche 3s were getting it as well as the new all glass cockpit. Sure hope I am wrong!
I sadly think you are right David. They are doing to typhoon the same as proposed for Chally 2. Only upgrading a pitifully low handful and not really maximising the development and new technology advantages to deliver battlefield effect.
I couldn’t agree more Mr. Bell. One thing our politicians do well is defence on the cheap!
I thought the Tranche 2s were going to get a potential upgrade after the Tranche 3s? I believe Quin mentioned that when he announced it in the Commons.
Believe me, I would love to be wrong! Hopefully you are right!
I believe they are all getting the large display and other mods as part of p4 updates, the aesa is initially only t3 but they aspire to do t2 as well , I believe it’s a bit more complicated with t2 as they need the necessary cooling pipe work fitted.
The embarrassment of riches hits again….possibly? The treasury just loves nothing more than (forced redundancy) to reduce military fleets on the basis that only a percentage will receive an upgrade. This leads to the remainder slowly becoming redundant on the basis they lack modern systems. Take Tranch 1 Typhoon, one minute they are to be axed then the next saved, and so on. Have no fear, the Typhoon fleet will slowly reduce just as other worthy airframes have before them. The answer is not to upgrade but replace with all new aircraft, just kidding. There is no better example of… Read more »
Shows off the RAF strategic capabilities that they are able to deploy fighters so far away so fast.
Yep, totally agree. Good sign of our ability to reach around the globe. Genuinely think there are only a few countries around the world that could match that…
Actually not as ‘few’ as you may think.
Sixteen nations have, or have on order, the A330 MRTT (aka, Voyager, KC-30A).
On top of that other nations use tankers based on B707 (KC-135, KC707), B767 (KC-767, KC-46) and DC10 (KC-10) airframes.
Plus of course tankers based on non western airframes too.
Again not as few as you may think.
Cheers,
There is a lot more to getting fighters to the other side of the world than tankers, the strategic life capability and allied basing for a start. With sovereign bases in Cyprus and Diego Garcia not to mention facilities in Qatar the UK could probably have conducted this mission even in the face of no allied support. Only one other country on the planet could manage that.
Mate, I think you’ve got a rather narrow, and UK centric, view on this.
But hey, that’s your opinion, I still believe that there are a number of other nations that can both deploy and sustain forces at long distances too.
It’s not just the US and UK.
Cheers,
Who else then? Not China and Russia for sure, maybe France can’t think of anyone else.
Martin, Who can deploy at distance and sustain too? Again, more nations than you suggest. The UK is not the only nation that can access allied or partner bases for a distant ‘sustained’ deployment. So who? In Europe, France, Germany and UK. In North America, the US obviously. In the Asia-Pacific, Australia, Japan and South Korea. In the sub-continent, India. Some notable mentions would potentially include some Middle East / Gulf nations that have a significant number of combat aircraft, tankers and heavy transport aircraft. Back in Asia, I’d also mention Singapore, Singapore has a number of Squadrons on long… Read more »
I said without allied partners bases. Anyone can fly a plane between airbases. Almost no one else can send planes to the other side of the world using their own bases. The UK can get aircraft from the edge of the Antarctic to Australia and North America using its own sovereign bases. That’s what strategic global reach looks like and very few countries can do it.
You think the UK is the ‘only’ nation that can access allied or friendly based? Seriously?
You are entitled to your opinion (so am I too), but you are wrong, dead wrong.
As for Pitch Black 2022, apart from the UK, how did France and Germany manage to transit from Europe to Australia?
Did the stay airborne all the way? No they didn’t.
Think about it, hey??
Yes, France, and uh, Andorra I think.
That’s a very long way to deploy, the utility of the voyager is also worth noting as well as the A400. It’s not just the numbers of fast jets but having the enablers to put the aircraft where you need them that matters. One of the big things that separate a global power from a regional power.
yep, one thing the events of the last 6 months has taught is that you can have loads of equipment but it is useless if it dosent work or the support chain isn’t in place
Picture is fake, if it was in Aus it would be the other way around.
The Luftwaffe shows they actually where there!
Impressed they managed to get 6 Typhoon from Germany to Singapore in 24 hours.
Any reason as to why they’ve deployed 4 A400Ms compared to the RAF only deploying 1 A400M?
Probably the voyager it can cram in a lot more people and carry a bigger payload than an A400M , it’s a lot bigger. So in effect the RAF have sent about 2.5 A400m potential loads supporting 4 jets vs the the 4 German A400m loads supporting six jets.
No, not correct.
Germany also used A330 MRTT (aka Voyager with a boom) as part of their deployment here to Oz (as did France, South Korea and Singapore).
The Germans are staying longer in the region after Pitch Black with a deployment to Japan, hence why the A400Ms too.
Cheers,
No, Germans are sending A-310 based tankers. They don’t have A-330 based tankers.
Sorry, that’s not correct.
As part of the NATO tanker consortium five A330 MRTT are based in the Netherlands, and four are based in Germany.
Germany is using A330 MRTT for the deployment to Australia, followed by a deployment to Japan and South Korea:
https://www.themandarin.com.au/197510-germans-jet-in-for-operation-pitch-black/
Last I read, Germany retired the last A310s back in June this year.
Last German A310 retired June 2022:
https://www.janes.com/amp/ila-2022-luftwaffe-retires-final-a310-tanker-transport-aircraft/ZnlJK3dHVU9mZ28xajRJVkc5dVI5VFp1cVMwPQ2
cheers I did not know they had also deployed a A310 which adds about another A400m load ( the A310 has a smaller transport capacity than our A330, but it’s not far off. So quite a bit more stuff moving capability in total for the Germans. As you say it sounds like they are having a longer trip…which is good…if it generates typhoon sales good on them.
Mate, please re-read my post.
The Germans used A330 MRTTs (not A310), the last A310 was retired back in June.
See one of my other posts too.
Cheers,
Hi John I thought the A330 that Germany purchased were purchased for NATO and under NATO ownership and manages as part of the MMU. So although some are based in Germany I think they are classed as Direct NATO assets and under the command of a multinational NATO team ( cannot remember it’s name). I did not realise they had retired the A310s in June as last thing I had read they were still doing casualty evac work. Cheers J
Mate,
Regardless of the ‘ownership’ of the A330 based in Germany by and on behalf of the NATO tanker consortium, it’s been widely reported that Germany used them for the Australian, Japan and South Korean deployment.
Clearly Germany had been ‘approved’ to use the NATO A330 aircraft outside of Europe/NATO.
I know it sounds pedantic but it’s important to note that Germany is not sending an A330. NATO is sending an MMU A330, it could be crewed by any random Europeans who are in the MMU and be a airframe purchased by another state. So it’s not sent by Germany or a Germany airforce asset, it’s a NATO contribution and could therefore be carrying cargo for any NATO member including some stuff for the RAF. The RAF A330 is not operated by a multinational force under nato and owned by NATO but is a true RAF asset. Maybe Pedantic, but… Read more »
Mate, I am having a bit of a chuckle! Ha ha! Yes you are correct, and yes you are being pedantic, which makes you a pedant, hey? Let’s see if this makes it clearer: Yes the A330 MRTTs Germany is using are officially owned by NATO, but it could reasonably argued the Germans paid for a large chunk of the NATO A330 MRTT fleet, true? It may well be that there is some contractual ‘fine print’ allowing the Germans (who paid for them) to use them outside of NATO, possible? What is 100% clear is that your original assertion the… Read more »
O yes I’m not denying the A310 thing, for me what’s interesting is the concept of shared resources owned by NATO and if you can say that Germany has deployed them or should you say NATO has deployed them. It’s just conceptually interesting, especially around the strategic transport element, as effectively any NATO county can request the use of NATO owned resources. It’s really important when you look at the other uses of these resources for things like cas vac ( which Germany has had to move to the A400).
Jonathan, mate, Firstly, at no stage have I said the A330 MRTTs being used by Germany to deploy to Australia (and beyond), are German owned Air Force assets (I did say Germany funded a fair chunk of that fleet). Yes they are NATO assets that are based in Germany, and clearly they are being used by Germany to ‘support’ their deployment here to Oz (no where have I seen them reported as being specific NATO assets being used by Germany). As for how those NATO assets are used, individually or collectively, both you and I don’t have access to the… Read more »
Sounds somewhat like being married. What’s yours is mine & what’s mine is mine etc.
Someone was here saying a bad show from the uk as they are only sending 1 voyager KC2 for the exercise. Well what a lovely surprise this is. Cyprus is Turning into a regular home for the typhoon last few years. Better to be nearer trouble spots.
Anyone know what these aircraft are doing after oz? Someone said the Germans are going on a bit of an Asia tour.
That poster likes a good old moan. Sometimes justified, sometimes not so much.
This is a good contribution considering our other standing tasks and commitments and Jonathan made a good point re the enabling assets. We have Voyager, and we have overseas bases to stage through too.
Good to see. The political impact is even greater. More please.
It’s an impressive commitment, especially given the furore recently over diversity and training pipelines and of course the normal commitments for national and NATO defence. It must be no easy task to move an air wing half way across the world, train with allies and then return home. It shows that despite the naysayers, the RAF is in the premier of capabilities still, there are not too many air forces could manage the logistics around such differing commitments. The Russian Air force by contrast can barely fly at all…..
Au contraire, mon ami! They fly into the ground on a daily basis.
That suggests they can get up high enough… 0.5m altitude is a challenge. Reward for achievement: 2 vodka.
A common denominator of many of the nations that have deployed here to Oz for Pitch Black 2022, is the A330 MRTT (aka, Voyager or KC-30A). France, Germany and UK from Europe, I also understand a French MRTT was used to assist the Indian SU-30 deployment. South Korea used its MRTT to support their F-16s, Singapore used its MRTT to support its aircraft. And of course here in Oz, RAAF KC-30A would have been used to assist the deployment of F-35A, EA-18G, etc, to the Northern Territory. Outside of the MRTT, I would imagine the US has used the KC-135,… Read more »
10 Aircraft to a squadron nowadays?
So why the refueling nozzle deployed? Ground test or do they leave it deployed for long ferry flights to minimize risk.
Mate, if you look at a the endless reams of video of combat aircraft after landing, or prior to take off, you’ll see the AAR probes deployed (I’ve seen RAAF Hornets and Super Hornets do it),
They are not deployed on landing or take off, ok? There are some aircraft that have a ‘fixed’ non retractable probe.
There is probably a safety/technical reason why they deploy after landing.
Cheers,
Can’t say I’ve noticed before but now I’m going to check YouTube. I’ve been to RIAT a few times and never noticed it.
Mate, I’d suggest it is for safety.
During AAR some fuel could be spilt during the process.
Opening the AAR probe after landing would allow for any remaining fuel or fumes to vent before parking, cuts the risk of fire.
Cheers, that nmakes sense