RFA Argus heading to Australia for major exercise with 20 other nations and 140 aircraft

1st July 2024 at 12:36pm

RFA Argus is on her way to Australia (library image) (Picture: Royal Navy)

RFA Argus, the hospital ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, is on her way from Singapore to Australia to join a large-scale flying exercise taking place over the Northern Territory.  

Exercise Pitch Black will involve 4,435 personnel from 21 countries and more than 140 aircraft.

Held every two years, the exercise is the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) most significant flying activity, focusing on bringing together large numbers of international aircraft.

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The name Pitch Black is thought to originate from the focus on night-time flying over vast, unpopulated areas.

Designed to provide a rapid response coordinated with Australia’s international partners, this year Pitch Black 24 will be the largest in the exercise’s 43-year history.

The exercise will be conducted primarily from RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory, with additional aircraft operating from RAAF Base Amberley, located near Ipswich in Queensland.

For Australia’s allies, the exercise provides training in how to deploy over great distances, with some countries travelling from around the globe to reach it.

RFA Argus will be sailing more than 2,000 miles from the Johor Strait, an international passage in southeast Asia between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia, to the north of Australia.

The RFA vessel has around 100 hospital beds on board and acts as a floating medical facility during times of war or crisis.

No other country can bring the same level of medical capability to sea as RFA Argus, with the exception of the United States.

Exercise Pitch Black runs from 12 July until 2 August.

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