KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 103 Royal Malaysian Air Force personnel today departed Butterworth air base for the largest multinational air combat exercise in Australia.
In a Facebook post, the RMAF said the personnel were seen off by air force chief General Tan Sri Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan as they headed for the Pitch Black Exercise 2024.
The exercise, from July 12 to Aug 2, will see the participation of 37 officers and 66 enlisted personnel, along with three F/A-18D Hornet fighter jets and one Airbus A400M transport aircraft.
The biennial exercise will be operating primarily from the Royal Australian Air Force bases in Darwin, Tindal and Amberley.
During the sending-off ceremony, Asghar also officiated the wearing of Pitch Black 2024 patches for his men involved in the exercise.
Also present were Air Operations commander Lieutenant-General Datuk Mohd Shahada Ismail and the Air Region 1 commander Major-General Datuk Mahadzer Amin.
This year's exercise will mark the fourth participation by the RMAF, where it had previously joined in in 2008, 2018 and 2022.
This edition of the exercise will be the largest in its 43-year history, with participation from 20 countries involving 140 aircraft of various types and approximately 4,435 personnel.
Among the countries participating in Pitch Black 2024 are the United States, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Fiji, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei.
The execution of the Pitch Black Exercise will cover a full spectrum of training, featuring various realistic and simulated threats that can be encountered in a modern combat environment.
During the exercise, RMAF will be involved in the Force Integration Phase Basic Fighter Manoeuvres (BFM), Air Combat Tactic (Beyond Visual Range air combat training), Large Force Employment Phase (combining all fighter assets, Multi Role Transport Tanker, and Command and Control to conduct Integrated Air Operations), and Air to Air Refuelling.
The air force said the involvement in the large-scale exercise will indirectly provide new knowledge to the crew and aircraft personnel involved in terms of planning and executing challenging exercises.
The participation of RMAF in the exercise also contributes to enhancing operational readiness, interoperability of strategic assets owned by the RMAF, mastery of air warfare tactics, and improving the capacity and skills of the officers and personnel involved.