Fighter pilots from around the world are set to hone their flying and combat skills in high-tech war games at the Top End.
The fast-jet season has blasted off in the Northern Territory ahead of the Royal Australian Air Force's premier international air combat event - Exercise Pitch Black.
A series of air force exercises will be held during the NT's dry season from late May to September, culminating in the Pitch Black operation involving pilots and aircraft from up to 20 nations.
The Top End's vastness makes it a world-class training environment for air crews to practise complex high-end flying and combat, and to enhance the ability of numerous air forces to work together.
"The training is really critical to ensure our aviators have the skills and the training for really complex high-end war fighting with air combat platforms," Wing Commander Rowan Paice said at RAAF Darwin on Monday.
