• India will be part of ‘Exercise Pitch Black’ which will take place from July 12 to August 2 in Australia.

• The India Air Force said its Su-30 MKI fighter jets will take part in the  biennial multinational aerial warfare exercise. 

• ‘Exercise Pitch Black 24’ will be the largest in the exercise’s 43-year history. It will bring together 20 participating nations and over 140 aircraft from around the world, with approximately 4,435 personnel participating.

• Exercise Pitch Black is the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) most significant flying activity for strengthening international engagement and enhancing ability to work with overseas partners.

• It was first held from RAAF Base Williamtown in New South Wales in June 1981 as a three-day air defence exercise.

• Held every two years, the exercise focuses on large force employment missions involving large numbers of international aircraft.

• This year’s exercise will be conducted primarily from RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory, with additional aircraft operating from RAAF Base Amberley, located near Ipswich in Queensland.

Other exercises involving Australia

• Exercise AUSTRAHIND was instituted in 2022 as an annual army training event to be conducted alternatively in India and Australia.

• The first-ever bilateral maritime exercise — AUSINDEX — was conducted in Visakhapatnam and the Bay of Bengal in September 2015. 

• The Royal Australian Navy has participated in every iteration of Exercise Milan since 2003. 

• Indian ships participated in Kakadu, the biennial multinational exercise of the Australian Navy held in 2018 and 2022. 

• India Navy participated in the French-led naval wargame ‘La Perouse’ in March 2023 along with the navies of the US, Australia, Japan and the UK.

• In October 2020, Australia participated in Exercise Malabar, joining India, the United States and Japan. In August 2023 Australia hosted Exercise Malabar for the first time.

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