The exercise aims to develop common maritime situational awareness by enhancing the cooperation in the field of maritime surveillance, maritime interdiction operations and air operations along with the conduct of progressive training and information sharing.
The exercise is scheduled to be conducted from July 12 to August 2, and is a biennial, multi-national exercise hosted by the RAAF. The name 'Pitch Black' was derived from the emphasis on night time flying over large un-populated areas.
IAF is participating with Five Mirage-2000 jets, two C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift planes and one IL-78 mid-air refuelling aircraft, along with around 100 IAF personnel, flew from the Jamnagar air-base for the exercise at Waddington in the UK.