IRIA News

The German Air Force has sent a fleet of 13 aircraft for its first-ever deployment to the Indo-Pacific region to demonstrate Berlin’s operational capability during the exercise and show solidarity with its allies.

The exercise comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region between China and the U.S. and its allies over Taiwan and is aimed at expanding European Union’s defense ties in the Indo-Pacific region.

German defense minister Christine Lambrecht told reporters that despite the war in Ukraine being a priority, Asia has not been forgotten. “We are at the side of all of those who stand for our values such as democracy, freedom, and security, and are also willing to contribute,” she said. “Our focus at the moment is naturally on the eastern flank, for which Russia’s brutal war of aggression is to blame, but we also have to keep an eye on other regions,” Lambrecht said.

The German air force fighter jets took off from Neuburg, Germany, and neared Singapore on Tuesday in a marathon bid to fly them some 12,800 kilometers (8,000 miles) from their home base to Southeast Asia in just 24 hours.

Last year, a German warship sailed into the South China Sea for the first time in almost 20 years, demonstrating Berlin’s priority in joining other Western nations in expanding its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

German fighter jets en route to Australia
German fighter jets will be joining 16 other nations in the biennial Exercise Pitch Black. Six Eurofighter jets took off from a base in Neuburg an der Donau in southern Germany and three A330 tankers from Cologne for the three-day flight to Australia where they will join four German A400M transporters to take part in the exercise in Australia. The aircraft were refueled in-air along the lengthy flight, and also made stops along the way for refueling, inspection, and rotations of pilots.

During a stop at a base near Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, said that two of the Eurofighters were found to have technical problems. One was fixed on site and sent but the other was held back. The Luftwaffe said personnel were sent from Germany to repair and make it available for upcoming exercises in Australia. Following the exercise in Australia, the German jets would make a stop in Japan and South Korea on their way back.

Exercise Pitch Black 

The Pitch Black exercise, being held from August 19 to September 8, is bringing together some 2,500 personnel and 100 aircraft from around the globe for three weeks in Australia’s Northern Territory.

European NATO members Germany, France, Britain, and the Netherlands are participating, along with the United States, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, UAE, Thailand, India, and others. The exercise is designed to test and improve multinational force integration, and “recognize Australia’s strong relationships and the high value we place on regional security and fostering closer ties throughout the Indo-Pacific region,” the Royal Australian Air Force said.

Air Commander Australia Air Vice-Marshal Darren Goldie said that exercises such as Pitch Black are pivotal in strengthening our regional partnerships and improving interoperability between nations. “Exercise Pitch Black is returning to the Top End after a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Air Commodore Goldie said. “Exercises such as Pitch Black provide important training opportunities in a multi-nation coalition environment,” he added.

Exercise Pitch Black 2022 is the Royal Australian Air Force’s most significant international engagement activity with forces participating from a wide range of partner and allied nations. The multi-national large force employment exercise is conducted primarily from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal. “Exercise Pitch Black features a range of realistic, simulated threats which can be found in a modern battle-space environment and is an opportunity to test and improve our force integration, utilizing one of the largest training airspace areas in the world — Bradshaw Field Training Area and Delamere Air Weapons Range,” according to RAAF.