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Speaker 1: Of August.

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Speaker 2: Now joining me on the line right now to tell

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Speaker 2: us more about Exercise pitch Black, which is launching today.

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Speaker 2: It's air commodore Peter Robinson. Good morning to you, Peter.

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Speaker 3: Gooday, Katie, good morning to you, and good morning to you.

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Speaker 1: Listening lovely to have you on the show this morning.

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Speaker 2: Now we know that exercise pitch Black, it is taking

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Speaker 2: over the skies from the twelfth of July to the

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Speaker 2: second of August.

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Speaker 1: What can we expect to see.

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Speaker 3: Well, Pitch Black's been going for forty three years now,

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Speaker 3: so from Pelly Humble beginnings in nineteen eighty one, the

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Speaker 3: exercises are grown, both in the scale and with the

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Speaker 3: amount of people that we bring onto the exercise. This

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Speaker 3: year is going to be the largest Pitch Black that

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Speaker 3: we've run. It's going to consist of over four thousand people.

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Speaker 3: It's going to consist of over one hundred and forty aircraft,

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Speaker 3: and we'll have twenty nations that will be participating in it.

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Speaker 3: And that will be over three weeks of training, as

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Speaker 3: you've talked about there, and during that training then we

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Speaker 3: are going to see a number of different exercises, starting

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Speaker 3: from some relatively simple air combat exercises are up to

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Speaker 3: very complex and choreographed exercises that we do you utilizing

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Speaker 3: all the skills and all the capabilities across those twenty nations.

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Speaker 3: So it's a great exercise. It's great for us to

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Speaker 3: do it in Darwin. It's great for us to showcase

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Speaker 3: the top end during the exercise.

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Speaker 1: Sounds like it's going to be massive.

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Speaker 2: I mean it is every time it happens, not more

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Speaker 2: so this year by the sounds of us.

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Speaker 3: Well, we keep saying to ourselves that we won't make

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Speaker 3: it bigger than the last one, but we always do.

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Speaker 3: And so this year, with the works that have been

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Speaker 3: going around Darwin, then we've maxed out the military side

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Speaker 3: of Darwin and we've also got some overflow into a

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Speaker 3: couple of other bases. So for the listeners down in Catherine,

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Speaker 3: then you're going to see some activities operating out of

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Speaker 3: the Kindle base down there, and we'll also have a

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Speaker 3: number of our larger aircraft operating out of rapt Bassembly,

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Speaker 3: which is just to the west of Brisbane.

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Speaker 2: Now tell me, I mean, what kind of aircraft can

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Speaker 2: they expect to see as well in the skies, because

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Speaker 2: there's a lot of like aviation watchers or I don't

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Speaker 2: even know if right, if there's a correct word for them, Peter,

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Speaker 2: but people that love to see the different kinds of

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Speaker 2: aircraft that are up in the sky throughout pitch Black.

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Speaker 3: So they're effectually known as spotters.

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Speaker 1: Yeah right.

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Speaker 3: And what the spotters will be able to see is

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Speaker 3: both aircraft that they're used to seeing from the Royal

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Speaker 3: Australian Air Force. But as we bring the twenty nations together,

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Speaker 3: then each of those nations will bring unique aircraft and

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Speaker 3: it's a real showcase of all the modern Western fighter

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Speaker 3: aircraft that we have in the world. And that's in

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Speaker 3: particular as our European friends come down, then they'll bring

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Speaker 3: a bunch of European fighters to go along with our

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Speaker 3: US made fighters that we generally see in Australia.

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Speaker 2: And it's all going to culminate, I guess for the public,

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Speaker 2: not so much for you guys, but for the public.

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Speaker 2: There's going to be the show that's going to take place,

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Speaker 2: the Middle Beach Flying Display. I believe that's on the

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Speaker 2: eighteenth of July, and then you've got the open Day

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Speaker 2: on the twentieth of July.

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Speaker 3: Yeah that's true, Okatie. So what a lot of the

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Speaker 3: residents will see is they'll see aircraft depart and will

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Speaker 3: go to the amazing airspace that is around the Northern

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Speaker 3: Territory to do our exercises and then they'll see recover.

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Speaker 3: So the opportunity for the Middle Beach fly Path is

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Speaker 3: for the community of Darwin to be able to see

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Speaker 3: the aircraft in closer detail and some of the maneuvers

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Speaker 3: that they will be flying. So each of the aircraft

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Speaker 3: that are operating in Pitch Black, the community will get

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Speaker 3: to see them. And it's part of our way of

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Speaker 3: saying to the Darwen community, thank you for the support

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Speaker 3: that you provide for Pitch Black and more broadly for

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Speaker 3: all the defense exercises that we do through Darwin. We

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Speaker 3: just can't do it without the Darwen community and it's

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Speaker 3: so fabulous for us to be able to give that back.

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Speaker 3: And as you talked about, we'll also be doing an

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Speaker 3: open day on the rap based Darlin on the Saturday

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Speaker 3: the twentieth, and that's an opportunity for the people of

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Speaker 3: Darlin to come and get up close and personal with

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Speaker 3: the aircraft, but also for our crews that operate the aircraft.

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Speaker 2: And I know that some people do get a bit

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Speaker 2: frustrated by the noise. What kind of hours are those

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Speaker 2: you know, are those those planes going to be all

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Speaker 2: the different type of aircraft going to be up throughout

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Speaker 2: the actual exercise.

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Speaker 3: So we've got the three weeks of flying and we

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Speaker 3: really appreciate the patients of the residents of Darwin as

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Speaker 3: we're doing this exercise. So we'll see two waves that

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Speaker 3: are done through the day and I will see one

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Speaker 3: that has done in the early evening. We won't be

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Speaker 3: flying on the Fridays of the exercise, and we won't

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Speaker 3: be flying over the weekends, so the residents should expect

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Speaker 3: to see some increased noise from Monday to Thursday, but

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Speaker 3: then back to normal from Friday through Sunday.

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Speaker 2: Lair Commodore Peter Robinson, really great to speak with you

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Speaker 2: this morning.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Gudie, and thanks for continuing support for defense and

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Speaker 3: for airport.

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Speaker 2: No worries at all and all the best over the

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Speaker 2: course of the exercise.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Cuddie. To