Jet fighter planes are not built for comfort but are incredible machines piloted by remarkably skilled pilots, says Defence Minister Richard Marles after a flight in a Super Hornet.
The deputy prime minister took a two-hour flight in the jet out of RAAF Darwin as the night flying exercise Pitch Black drew to a close after Australia hosted fighter jets and air crew from 21 nations.
'I did experience significant G-forces and survived," he told AAP on Friday.
"It's not the most comfortable experience."
Mr Marles said he "got through it" and the experience gave him a sense of respect for what highly trained RAAF pilots do.
The Super Hornet was an "incredible machine" and the skills of the pilots were incredible as well, he said.
"You could hear the conversations going on more broadly across the airspace which gave you a sense of the complexity of the exercise that was underway."
A two-hour flight was demanding but Australian fighter pilots doing combat missions in the Middle East a decade ago were doing up to 10-hour flights, the minister said.
"The planes are built for performance and effect, they're not really built for comfort, they're built for safety."
Mr Marles said in the decade he had been shadow defence minister then minister he had the opportunity to see Australia's soldiers, sailors and aviators operate skilfully across a variety of platforms.
"Certainly the skill of our F-18 pilots is genuinely remarkable and we should feel very proud to have them as part of the defence force," he said.
