South Korea, Japan discuss goals at Australia’s Pitch Black exercise

DARWIN, Australia — Japan and South Korea have both sent combat aircraft to Australia for the first time to take part in a large multinational air combat exercise .

The South Korean Air Force sent six upgraded F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighters to northern Australia for the Pitch Black exercise, while the Japan Air Self-Defense Force deployed its F-2A jets.

Both contingents are operating from a Royal Australian Air Force base at Darwin for the duration of the biennial exercise, which is taking place Aug. 19-Sept. 8 and includes aircraft from 10 countries plus NATO.

Korean participation

The South Korean jets are a mixture of single- and twin-seat aircraft that recently underwent major upgrades and were given the local KF-16U designation. They were fitted with a new active electronically scanned array radar, an advanced identification friend or foe system, mission computers and an electronic warfare suite, according to notification to Congress issued by the U.S. State Department in 2015 when it approved South Korea’s request to upgrade 134 F-16s.

Some of the fighter jets carried markings of the 20th and 38th fighter wings. However, pilot Maj. “Coldgun” Lee said the jets and most of the personnel participating in the exercise are from the Chungju-based 19th Fighter Wing and 39th Reconnaissance Group.

Lee told Defense News the South Korean aircrew are flying both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions at the exercise, and are alternating between serving as friendly and adversarial forces for the drills. He added that Pitch Black fosters interoperability in the employment of large force scenarios for participants, while the dry-season weather and large airspace available for the exercise were also a key drawcard.

The pilot did not reveal his full name due to security reasons.

The South Korean F-16s arrived in Australia via a stopover in the Philippines in the lead-up to the exercise. They were supported by a South Korea KC-330 Cygnus multirole tanker/transport aircraft, which also took part in Pitch Black from RAAF Base Amberley.

Japan sent five F-2As from the 3rd Squadron based at Hyakuri, northeast of Tokyo. The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force was originally due to make its debut at the 2020 iteration of Pitch Black, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a media visit to the Japanese contingent in Darwin, the detachment commander, Col. Mastaka Tadano, said his country’s participation this year is an opportunity to improve capabilities and interoperability with partner nations from the region and beyond.

The Japanese fighters also flew both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions at Pitch Black, alternating between friendly and adversarial forces during daytime and nighttime drills. Tadano told Defense News that one of the key objectives for the force at the exercise is to gain more experience in large force employment in a coalition setting — something the service lacks.

He added that the exercise also allows Japanese personnel to train with countries and aircraft they had never encountered before, specifically India’s Sukhoi Su-30s and France’s Dassault Rafales.

The Japanese contingent made its way to Australia via a stopover in Guam, supported by a KC-767 tanker of Japan’s 404th Squadron from Komaki air base. The tanker did not take part in Pitch Black, however, with the F-2s using Australian KC-30A tankers for midair refueling support during the exercise.

Australia and Japan have stepped up bilateral defense interactions in recent years, with the former’s fighter jets taking part in exercises with the latter’s in Japan, while an Australian KC-30A conducted refueling trials with F-2s over four weeks in April, flying from Komaki.

Mike Yeo is the Asia correspondent for Defense News.

澳大利亚达尔文——日本和韩国首次向澳大利亚派遣作战飞机，参加大型多国空中作战演习。

韩国空军派出六架升级后的F-16“战隼”多用途战斗机前往澳大利亚北部参加“漆黑行动”演习，而日本航空自卫队则部署了F-2A战斗机。

这两个分遣队在两年一度的演习期间均驻扎在达尔文的澳大利亚皇家空军基地。此次演习从 8 月 19 日至 9 月 8 日举行，共有来自 10 个国家和北约的飞机参加。

韩国参与

这些韩国战机包括单座和双座机型，近期进行了重大升级，并被赋予了韩国本土的KF-16U型号。根据美国国务院2015年向国会提交的通知，这些战机配备了新型有源相控阵雷达、先进敌我识别系统、任务计算机和电子战系统。当时，美国国务院批准了韩国提出的升级134架F-16战机的请求。

部分战斗机涂有第20和第38战斗机联队的标志。然而，飞行员李少校（绰号“冷枪”）表示，参加此次演习的战斗机和大部分人员都来自驻扎在忠州的第19战斗机联队和第39侦察大队。

李告诉《防务新闻》，韩国飞行员在演习中执行了空对空和空对地任务，并在演习中交替扮演友军和敌军角色。他还补充说，“漆黑行动”旨在提升参演人员在大规模兵力部署场景中的互操作性，而演习期间的旱季天气和广阔的空域也是吸引他们参与的重要因素。

出于安全考虑，飞行员没有透露自己的全名。

在演习开始前，韩国F-16战机经菲律宾中转抵达澳大利亚。一架韩国KC-330“天鹅座”多用途加油/运输机为它们提供支援，该机也从安伯利皇家空军基地起飞参加了“漆黑行动”。

日本从驻扎在东京东北部百里空军基地的第三飞行队派出了五架F-2A战斗机。日本航空自卫队原计划在2020年的“漆黑行动”（Pitch Black）上首次亮相，但该活动因新冠疫情而被取消。

在媒体访问驻达尔文的日本特遣队期间，特遣队指挥官多田野正孝上校表示，日本今年的参战是一个提升与本地区及其他地区伙伴国家能力和互操作性的机会。

在“漆黑”演习中，日本战斗机还执行了空对空和空对地任务，在白天和夜间演练中交替扮演友军和敌军角色。多田野告诉《防务新闻》，此次演习的关键目标之一是积累在联合作战环境下大规模兵力运用方面的经验——这是日本军方所缺乏的。

他还补充说，此次演习也让日本人员有机会与他们以前从未接触过的国家和飞机进行训练，特别是印度的苏霍伊 Su-30 战斗机和法国的达索阵风战斗机。

日本特遣队经关岛中转前往澳大利亚，途中由日本空军第404飞行队的KC-767加油机从驹木空军基地提供空中加油支持。然而，这架加油机并未参与“漆黑行动”，F-2战斗机在演习期间使用的是澳大利亚KC-30A加油机提供的空中加油支援。

近年来，澳大利亚和日本加强了双边防务互动，澳大利亚的战斗机在日本与日本的战斗机进行了联合演习，而一架澳大利亚KC-30A加油机在4月份从小牧起飞，与F-2战斗机进行了为期四周的空中加油试验。

Mike Yeo 是《防务新闻》的亚洲通讯员。