Australian air force Flight Lt. Jaqui Ozanne refuels a fighter jet aboard at KC-30A tanker over Australia’s Northern Territory, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE BASE TINDAL, Australia — F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lighting II stealth fighters took turns flying as red air — the opposing force — during multinational airpower drills Down Under, mimicking the threat the United States and its allies might face in a conflict with China or Russia.
Pitch Black, a biennial exercise that began July 12 and ends Friday, brought 140 aircraft and 4,400 personnel from 21 nations to the Northern Territory and neighboring Queensland.
U.S. Air Force F-22s, Australian F-35As and Italian F-35Bs soared over the Outback in high-tech mock dogfights.
The fifth-generation aircraft, loaded with advance sensors and other avionics, alternated in friendly and aggressor roles, said Australian air force Squadron Leader Eamon Hamilton, a spokesman for Pitch Black, at RAAF Tindal on Thursday.
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor takes off from Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal during the Pitch Black exercise, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
Red air pilots mimic the tactics of advanced Russian and Chinese fighters they might encounter in a real-world conflict.
China’s J-20 Mighty Dragon fighter, launched in 2017, is thought to incorporate stolen F-35 technology. Russia’s new Sukoi Su-57 fighter also boasts stealth capabilities and has seen combat in Ukraine.
F-22s and F-35s as the opposition at Pitch Black makes sense, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday.
“With appropriate limits on speed, maneuverability, avionics settings, and weapons they can replicate potential adversary aircraft,” said the former deputy commander of what is now called Indo-Pacific Command.
Italian F-35B Lightning IIs stealth fighters fly over Australia’s Norhern Territory during Pitch Black drills, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
Flying opposition tactics, techniques and procedures as red air gives Raptor and Lightning II pilots a deeper understanding of what to expect in combat, Leaf said.
The Raptors in Australia are from the 27th Fighter Squadron at Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Va., according to information posted on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service’s website.
Six Raptors, deployed to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, are at Tindal for Pitch Black, detachment commander Lt. Col. Ryan Nickell told reporters during a Zoom interview Wednesday.
“It’s an absolute benefit being here for Pitch Black,” he said, highlighting the chance to work with many foreign aircraft and train in a massive amount of airspace.
The Raptors primarily served as escorts during the exercise, Nickell said.
“It’s the first Pitch Black that we have participated in, and it happens to be the largest Pitch Black,” he said.
Air Force Maj. Aaron Kim flies a KC-30A tanker over Australia’s Northern Territory during Pitch Black drills, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
The Raptors are operating out of facilities used by the Tindal-based 75 Squadron, which flies Lightning IIs, Nickell said.
“Having face-to-face debriefs and face-to-face briefings with these guys is huge,” he said.
Nickell said he saw little difference in capability between European and Asian pilots and aircraft at Pitch Black.
“They fly similar platforms,” he said. “Everybody is trying to pitch in.”
Alongside the Americans at Tindal, Australian air force Flight Lt. Jaqui Ozanne operated the boom on a KC-30A tanker assigned to No. 33 Squadron from RAAF Amberley in Queensland.
Her tanker refueled German, Italian and Spanish Typhoons, Italian F-35Bs and an Australian F/A-18 Hornet on Thursday.
On Wednesday the tanker refueled Raptors from Tindal. It also performed an elephant walk with five of the F-22s and six Australian F-35As from No. 75 Squadron, she said.
“We love having the Americans come to Australia,” she said after her mission Thursday. “They always bring good energy and a good attitude, and we learn a lot.”
