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04/09/2026

The Royal Australian Air Force ripping it up through the Brisbane CBD at lunchtime today! A pair of F/A-18F Super Hornets preformed a series of passes ahead of tomorrow's Riverfire display.

The main show kicks off tomorrow from 4:30pm with fireworks at 7:00pm!

03/09/2026

The Royal Australian Air Force providing lunchtime entertainment over the skies of Brisbane today in the lead-up to Brisbane Festival's Riverfire 2026! 'Stallion 41' flew a series of passes down the Brisbane River with the C-17A now a staple part of the yearly display.

At 12:30pm tomorrow (Friday 4th), a pair of F/A-18F Super Hornets will preform their display followed by the main show on Saturday 5th kicking off from 4:30pm.

18/08/2026

Prime Minister of Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul arriving into Sydney last night onboard the Royal Thai Air Force A340-500 as "Royal Thai Air Force 223". The Kingdom of Thailands Prime Minister is in Australia to discuss deepening economic cooperation under the Australia-Thailand Strategic Partnership.

He is expected to depart Sydney this evening for Canberra before heading to New Zealand on Thursday.

04/08/2026

NKAWTG!

Whilst much of the focus on Exercise Pitch Black 2026 is in the fast jets, a large network of tankers allow the fight to continue. Last week we joined the Royal Australian Air Force onboard one of their seven KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft for an air-to-air refuelling sortie.

Despite being nearly 3,000km away from Darwin, RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland is the main hub for tanker aircraft for the exercise. Amberley is currently home to four foreign MRTT aircraft from the Royal Air Force, Ejército del Aire and NATO alongside two KC-135 Stratotanker from the United States Air Force.

During our flight we witnessed ten aircraft top up their tanks including Australian F/A-18F Super Hornets and F-35A Lightning IIs alongside Bundeswehr EF2000 Typhoons

31/07/2026

Behind every exercise is a dedicated team of professionals working together to ensure success both in the air and on the ground.

Throughout the week we had the opportunity to meet with personnel from various partner nations participating in Exercise Pitch Black 2026. We gained insight on not only what they bring to Exercise Pitch Black, but also what they can take back to their home nations.

Visitors will have the chance to get up close with the exercise at tomorrow's sold out Pitch Black RAAF Darwin Open Day!

27/07/2026

Exercise Pitch Black goes… pitch black

It’s the second week of the Royal Australian Air Force's largest international exercise with night operations now underway. Approximately 40 aircraft took to the skies out of Darwin last night, joined by additional assets from Amberley and Tindal.

Utilising an airspace approximately the size of New Zealand, Pitch Black provides nations with complex and demanding air combat training scenarios. Night flying will continue throughout the remainder of the exercise, wrapping up next Thursday.

24/07/2026

As the first week of Exercise Pitch Black 2026 draws to a close, we take a look back at yesterday's Mindil Beach Flying Display!

Returning for the seventh time, the Mindil Beach Flying Display drew large crowds to the Northern Territory's coastline with an hour and a half of low passes from partner nations.

The show included a handling display from the Royal Australian Air Force F-35A Lightning II and culminated with a dazzling display by the newly minted demo team in the F/A-18F Super Hornet!

What was your favourite performer of the day?

Thank you to Oscar Blat for contributing these photos!

17/07/2026

Exercise Pitch Black 2026 is right around the corner with one weekend to go!

Up to 100 aircraft from thirteen nations will take to the skies from Monday morning with the exercise wrapping up on Friday 7th August. Embedded personnel from seven nations will also participate including Finland and Sweden for the first time.

This year will also include the participation of new aircraft types from three regular Pitch Black attendees; the Japanese Grumman E-2D Hawkeye, F-35A Lightning II, the Indian Dassault Rafale and the Indonesian KAI T-50i Golden Eagle.

The public can get up close with this year's action with two public events scheduled; the Mindil Beach Flying Display on Thursday 23rd July and the RAAF Darwin Open Day on Saturday 1st August.

Here we take a look at a small selection of arrivals into RAAF Base Darwin from earlier this week!

06/07/2026

Two weeks till Exercise Pitch Black 2026!

The Royal Australian Air Force's largest international exercise is just around the corner, with over 100 aircraft from 19 allied and partner nations set to descend upon Australia's Top End. The exercise is set to take place from Monday 20th July to Friday 7th August with a mixture of day and night flying from RAAF Base Darwin and Tindal.

The public can get up close with this year's action with two public events scheduled; the Mindil Beach Flying Display on Thursday 23rd July and the RAAF Darwin Open Day on Saturday 1st August.

Here we take a look back at a morning of flying action from the first week of the 2024 edition of Pitch Black.

30/06/2026

The JASDF arrive Down Under!

The first foreign participants for Exercise Pitch Black 2026 have arrived in Australia with the 航空自衛隊 Japan Air Self-Defense Force arriving into RAAF Base Darwin this afternoon. Six F-35A aircraft were supported by two KC-46A tankers and a network of Kawasaki C-2 transport aircraft. Based out of Misawa in Northern Honshu and operated by 301 Hikotai and 302 Hikotai, the Lightnings are anticipated to participate in Exercise Southern Cross prior to the commencement of Pitch Black in late July.

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