One of the world’s newest air forces took part in exercises alongside stealth fighter jets as the Pacific Island nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG) boosted defense ties with Australia and the United States.
PNG trainee pilots queued for takeoff with U.S. F-22 Raptor and Australian Joint Strike Fighter jets in northern Australia in the 20-nation Pitch Black drills. “It is a learning experience for us as a small Air Force and it helps to build our Air Force,” said Maj. Randall Hepota, one of six PNG pilots flying three P-750 turboprops.
The New Zealand-made aircraft can take off and land within short distances, and transports supplies and troops to treacherous mountain terrain.
Pitch Black is Australia’s biggest multinational air combat training activity. It runs from mid-July to early August. With about 140 aircraft and over 4,000 personnel, the 2024 iteration was the largest in the exercise’s 43-year history.
Participants trained in complex scenarios, using advanced aircraft and battlespace systems in one of the world’s biggest military training airspaces, according to the Australian Defence Department.
Other first-time participants included aircraft and personnel from Italy, the Philippines and Spain, and embedded personnel from Brunei and Fiji. In addition, aircraft from France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the United Kingdom participated, along with embedded personnel from Canada and New Zealand.
Lt. Col. Douglas Vavar, commanding officer of the PNG Air Wing, said Pitch Black provided PNG personnel with access to the world’s best pilots and helped them learn how to integrate with a large coalition force.
“Flying in Papua New Guinea is a must,” he said. “Eighty percent of the population live in rural areas, so the only way you can get access to them is to fly.”
In May 2024, PNG aircraft delivering aid were able to land closer to the site of a devastating landslide in Enga than larger Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) planes could, Vavar said.
“We have been training with the Royal Australian Air Force for several years and the Enga landslide was the first time we had to deploy,” he said.
PNG signed defense agreements with Australia and the U.S. in 2023, which include support for bolstering the island nation’s preparedness and response capabilities. “Papua New Guinea is one of our key allies in the region,” said Fiona Pearce, a senior Australian Defence Force officer at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. “Their survival and our survival is interdependent.”
