Aircraft participating in Exercise PITCH BLACK 2016 will take to the air today after the formal commencement of the schedule on 29 July.
Up to 2500 personnel and 115 aircraft have arrived at RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal for the exercise with participating nations including Canada, France (New Caledonia), Germany, Indonesia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and the US.
The exercise will use airspace over Bradshaw Training Area and Delamere Air Weapons Range to practice large formation offensive and counter air and offensive air support operations.
The exercise will involve day and night flying from Darwin and Tindal, as well as a number of land elements in each location.
Flight Lieutenant Eamon Hamilton said some of the roles that would be practiced during the exercise included air-to-air combat, air-to-ground attack, command and control, air-to-air refueling and tactical air transport.
PITCH BLACK has been running for more than 30 years and provides an opportunity to strenghten ties with allies and regional neighbours while utilising the vast exercise space the Territory offers.
Veteran air combat officer Air Commodore Rick Owen said the skills practiced these days are quite different from what he experienced back in the 80s flying F-111s.
"Back then I was very much focused on the mission that day and getting those bombs onto the target but now it's much more about a system and how you integrate into a complex environment."
"It has grown as Air Force has grown, as Air Force has tasken on new capabilities, PITCH BLACK itself has changed to incorporate those capabilities."
AIRCDRE Owen said an example of the changing nature of the exercise was the use of unmanned aircraft such as the Heron this year.
"We're taking individual skills, combining them into a complex air environment and seeing how they match up," he said.