Context
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will join 16 other nations, including Quad partner countries for Exercise Pitch Black, the biennial exercise hosted by the Australian Air Force.
About
- The warfare exercise takes place once every two years and is hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
- The aim of this exercise is to practice Offensive Counter Air (OCA) and Defensive Counter Air (DCA) combat.
- The exercise takes place in a simulated war environment.
- The first Pitch Black exercise took place on June 15-16 1981 between the RAAF units.
About India-Australia Defence cooperation
- Defence Cooperation between India and Australia has expanded significantly in recent years.
- An MoU on Defence Cooperation has been signed as well as a Joint Declaration on Security Co-operation was signed.
- There are frequent exchanges of visits including at the level of Service Chiefs, regular Naval, Air Force, and Army Talks; joint naval exercises; regular exchanges at each other’s training institutes and seminars.
- The Defence Minister of Australia visited India in December 2011 for Defence Ministers’ Dialogue.
- The India-Australia defence relationship now encompasses almost every major function of the military: strategic dialogues, coordination, and information exchanges; military exercises involving ground, air, and maritime forces; exchanges and training; and defence scientific and technological cooperation.
India-Australia Military Cooperation
- IFC-IOR
- The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region in Gurugram is an Indian initiative to boost maritime security and response through the exchange of information related to the ships in the Indian Ocean Region.
- Strategic Dialogue
- In June 2020, Australia and India decided to upgrade their Secretaries 2+2 dialogue (Defence and Foreign Affairs) to the Ministerial level.
- Ministers from the two countries will meet at least every two years to engage in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
- The two leaders of the countries have established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
- Exercise Malabar
- Australia participated in the MALABAR naval exercise in October 2020, joining India, the United States, and Japan.
- The exercise brought together four regional defence partners and democracies, demonstrating a collective resolve to support an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
- High-end military exercises like MALABAR are also key to enhancing all the countries’ maritime capabilities and building interoperability with close partners.
- AUSINDEX
- Engagement between the Royal Australian Navy and the Indian Navy has advanced significantly through the key bilateral exercise, AUSINDEX.
- The third edition of the biennial exercise saw Australia send its largest-ever defence deployment to India, including four ships, Australian Army forces, and RAAF aircraft, comprising more than 1000 Australian personnel.
- Pitch Black
- For the first time, the Indian Air Force participated in Exercise Pitch Black in Darwin in 2018.
- Australia’s multilateral exercise involves air forces from several Australian allies and partner countries.
- India’s participation was additionally significant for staging the first mid-air refueling of an IAF combat aircraft (Su-30MKI) by a RAAF aircraft (KC-30A), revealing a degree of coordination not previously demonstrated.
- Shared Military Platforms
- Australian and Indian militaries have become increasingly interoperable through the growing number of shared platforms, thereby increasing opportunities for joint training.
- These include C-17 strategic transport aircraft, C-130 tactical transport aircraft, P-8 maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.
