Singapore Participates in Multilateral Air Combat Exercise in Australia

The Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) F-16C (left) and F-15SG (right), together with the Royal Australia Air Force's (RAAF) F-18A (centre) in a formation flight during Exercise Pitch Black 2016.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is participating in Exercise Pitch Black, a large-scale multilateral air combat exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in Darwin, Australia. Held from 29 July to 19 August, this year's exercise will involve up to 110 aircraft and more than 2,800 personnel from ten participating nations pitting their air combat skills against simulated threats in a challenging and realistic training environment, under day and night conditions. Canada, Germany and Netherlands are participating for the first time, joining Australia, France (New Caledonia), Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and the United States for this multilateral exercise.

The RSAF deployed about 450 personnel, eight F-15SGs, six F-16C/Ds, a Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning (G550-AEW) aircraft and a KC-135R air-to-air refueling tanker to participate in this year's exercise, alongside two I-HAWK ground-based air defence systems and an Agile Multiple Beam (AMB) radar.

The RSAF's Exercise Director for Exercise Pitch Black 2016, Senior Lieutenant-Colonel (SLTC) David Lim Chin Yew, shared on the significance of the large-scale air exercise. He said, "Exercise Pitch Black provides us with excellent opportunities to conduct large-scale realistic training under day and night operational scenarios. We get to fly with other partner nations to enhance our interoperability. Through this exercise, our RSAF personnel also have the opportunity to interact with personnel from other participating air forces. In the process, we forge new friendships and build lasting bonds. This exercise is also a testament to the good defence relations that Singapore shares with the other exercise participants."

Established in 1990, Exercise Pitch Black seeks to enhance professionalism and interoperability among the participating air forces, and foster closer rapport and mutual understanding among the servicemen and women.

An RSAF F-15SG taking off for a night mission during Exercise Pitch Black 2016.

An RSAF Air Force Engineer conducting pre-flight checks on the F-16C aircraft.

The RSAF personnel interacting with the RAAF personnel during the exercise.