Korean Air Force to join major multinational air drills in Australia

Korea's Air Force will participate in multinational joint air drills in Australia starting this week, aimed at enhancing cooperation with partner nations, the armed service said Tuesday.

The biennial Pitch Black exercise, scheduled to run from Friday through Aug. 7, will take place at a naval base in Darwin, Australia, involving troops and some 110 aircraft from 16 nations, including the United States, Spain and Germany.

Korea plans to send about 100 troops and six KF-16 fighter jets, according to the Air Force. It will also deploy three KC-330 Cygnus multirole aerial tankers and three C-130 transport aircraft to help support the mission.

A formation of KF-16 fighter jets is set to take off from an air base in Seosan, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Seoul, on Wednesday and fly some 5,900 kilometers nonstop with the help of aerial refueling.

The Korean Air Force will conduct local familiarization training next week to get accustomed to the local environment before taking part in a series of drills, including air interdiction, defensive counter-air and aerial refueling missions.

Launched in 1981, Pitch Black is an international air combat exercise, led by the Royal Australian Air Force, featuring complex, combat-like scenarios designed to strengthen regional and global interoperability with allied and partner nations. It would mark the third participation by the Korean Air Force since 2022.

Yonhap