Exercise Pitch Black flying schedule

Flying activity for Exercise Pitch Black 24 will take place from July 15 until August 1. Aircraft will begin arriving for the exercise as early as July 4, and some participants remaining at RAAF Base Darwin for up to a week after the exercise.

Flying periods during Exercise Pitch Black 24 from RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal are:

  • July 15-17: 7am until 7pm
  • July 18: 7am until 7:30pm
  • July 22-25: 8am until 10.30pm
  • July 28 to August 1: 8am until 10.30pm

Air-to-air refuelling aircraft and transport aircraft at RAAF Base Amberley will be required to operate outside of these periods.

There will be no large formation missions for Exercise Pitch Black 24 on Fridays and weekends. Some aircraft may be required to fly during these periods however, including aircraft arriving in Australia or departing overseas from the exercise; or aircraft that need to reposition between bases.

Exercise Pitch Black 24 will include a Flying Display off Mindil Beach on Thursday, 18 July 2024, from 5pm until 6.30pm.

Additional activity for this exercise will be conducted from RAAF Base Curtin and Kununurra in Western Australia; Timber Creek, Bradshaw Field Training Range and Delamere Air Weapons Range in Northern Territory; and with ships in the Timor Sea.

During the exercise, flying times will be posted to the Air Force flying activity webpage, and the Defence aircraft noise website.

Practices to reduce aircraft noise within the local community include the following:

  • Minimising the use of afterburners for aircraft during take off.
  • Expediting the return of aircraft during landing, including formations of aircraft conducting Initial and Pitch recovery.
  • No planned exercise flying activity between 10pm and 8am.

All participants on Exercise Pitch Black follow ADF policies and guidelines to minimize the impact of flying operations. During the exercise flying times will be posted to this page as well as the Defence aircraft noise website. Other Air Force flying operations information can be found on the Flying activity page.

The Northern Territory has some of the best military training airspace in the world. It has massive open spaces, largely flat terrain, and dry season weather which provides reliable forecasts and good visibility. This combination presents few inherent dangers for large-scale air exercise, and facilitates safe training.

The airspace provides an environment to test aircraft, systems and crews to the full limits of their capability; and do so in a safe and responsible manner.

Participation in Exercise Pitch Black allows many participants to experience flying conditions that would be difficult or impossible to replicate in their home country. This includes flying complex missions in large areas of military training airspace, working with the world’s most advanced combat aircraft, and cooperating with personnel from a wide range of countries.

Night-time flying activity

Night-time flying operations are an essential part of Air Force training, ensuring that we are skilled and experienced at carrying out our job with reduced visibility. This ensures our success in future operations.

Every effort is made to reduce the disruption. This includes minimising night flying where possible, with no planned flying activity on Fridays or weekends; and flight planning with noise considerations including best available flight paths and altitudes.

Low-level flying operations

Low level flying is required to meet tactical training outcomes for aircrew, and ensures they remain ready to operate in all environments.

Low level flying operations are approved with the consideration of community and environmental considerations. Where possible aircraft avoid published noise sensitive areas and populated areas.

All efforts are made to mitigate the impact of low level flying operations on the community and environment, including specific flight planning and briefings before missions are conducted.