How Do RSAF Pilots Train For Real Combat? They Head Down Under 🦘

This story kicks off our series uncovering the Singapore Armed Forces’ overseas exercises, where our defenders train far from home to keep us safe in the Lion City.

When you hear “Republic of Singapore Air Force” (or RSAF), you probably picture sleek jets zipping over our island in the lead up to National Day. But the real action? It happens far beyond our borders.

Imagine Singapore pilots flying through the vast Australian outback, dodging simulated missiles, refuelling mid-air, and learning from fighter jets they’d never meet in the Lion City.

This is Exercise Pitch Black, where the RSAF levels up with the world’s best, so that when the stakes are real, they’re ready.

Exercise Pitch Black (XPB) began in 1981. Here, an Australian MIRAGE III, from the 75th Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, is being inspected at XPB 1984. | IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

So… what exactly is Exercise Pitch Black?

Exercise Pitch Black (XPB) is a large-scale, multinational air combat exercise hosted by Australia’s Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) every two years in Darwin, Australia. It first took off (literally) in 1981 and now brings together air forces from all over the world. Singapore has been participating in this exercise since 1990.

According to the RAAF, the name “Pitch Black” is “believed to be derived from the emphasis on night-time flying over large unpopulated areas during these early exercises, although the exercise was not conducted on moonless nights as some have suggested”.

It’s not your regular flight practice. XPB gives pilots and crew a taste of what real large-scale air combat could feel like — with day-and-night scenarios that push skills to the edge.

Why it’s such a big deal

For the RSAF, XPB means getting out of our tiny airspace and into a training space more than 10 times the size of Singapore. Think: vast open skies and realistic terrain.

This lets our pilots and crew train for:

• Air-to-air combat: Dogfights in the skies.
• Air-to-ground combat: Precision strikes on targets.
• Surveillance and reconnaissance missions: Keeping eyes on the enemy.

It’s a rare chance to perform “live” bomb drops, run air-to-air refuelling ops, and learn to react to simulated threats.

Exercise Pitch Black 2024

The latest Exercise Pitch Black, held from 12 Jul to 2 Aug 2024, was the biggest one in XPB’s 43-year history. Over 4,400 personnel and more than 140 aircraft from 20 nations turned Darwin into a buzzing hub of fighter jets, transport planes, and radar systems.

Singapore deployed more than 450 personnel, with a fleet that included:

• Four F-15SGs
• Six F-16C/Ds
• One G550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft
• One A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (A330 MRTT)

And on the ground? Our team brought along air defence systems like the SHIKRA (System for Hybrid Interceptor Knowledge of Recognised Air) Radar and Multi-Mission Radar (MMR) as well as ground-based air defence systems like the Aster 30 (an all-weather, next-generation medium-range Surface-to-Air Missile system), and the SPYDER (Surface-to-air PYthon-5 and DERby), all adding muscle to the mix.

The A330 MRTT conducting air-to-air refuelling with an F15SG. | IMAGE: FACEBOOK/@THERSAF

It’s not just about jets and dogfights

Very importantly, XPB is also about building trust and strengthening partnerships with other air forces. During XPB 2024, Singapore’s A330 MRTT tanker (which made its XPB debut in 2022) conducted air-to-air refuelling operations on other nations’ fighter aircraft to extend their endurance and enhance operational competencies through the large-scale air combat training environment.

Cross-training like this is gold because our teams rarely get to work with these aircraft back home. For example, these refuelling exercises gave the RSAF the opportunity to train with other countries’ aircraft that they don’t usually get to work with, including the Typhoons from the UK’s Royal Air Force and the French Rafales.

An RAAF F-35 blasts off the runway in Darwin during XPB 2024. | IMAGE: FACEBOOK/@DEFENCEPIONEERSG

Getting ready for the future

Training with other countries’ F-35 fighter jets was a highlight at XPB 2024. Why? Because Singapore will be getting its own fleet of F-35s soon (the first batch of four F-35B jets will be delivered in 2026), so every hour spent learning about these next-gen fighters is priceless.

More than just flexing wings, XPB keeps the RSAF sharp, connected, and future-ready –  all in skies 10 times bigger than we could ever dream of at home.

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