Flying suits to kitchen aprons: IAF team dishes up Indian cuisine at 20-nation combat drill in Australia
About 100 aircraft and over 2,500 personnel are participating in the drill being held from July 20 to August 7
Taking a break from high intensity flying missions over Australia, Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel briefly traded their flying suits for kitchen aprons as they dished up traditional Indian cuisine at Exercise Pitch Black 2026, a multinational air combat drill that brings together Air Forces of 20 nations.
“Each of the international contingents taking part took to the oval of the Defence Accommodation Precinct Darwin to set up a stall representing their home country with traditional food, drinks and a taste of home,” a post on the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) website said.
“International Night is a chance to celebrate with international friends by setting up a stall with their local and national cuisine, national culture in a relaxed environment,” Director of Engagement for Pitch Black, Group Captain Peter Wood, was quoted in the post.
Four IAF Rafale fighters and two C-17 transport aircraft along with 120 IAF personnel are participating in the exercise. Their flight across the Indian Ocean to the Australian airbase at Darwin was supported by the IAF’s IL-78 Midas refuellers.
About 100 aircraft and over 2,500 personnel are participating in the drill being held from July 20 to August 7. It provides a unique platform to enhance interoperability and strengthen operational cooperation, besides exemplifying the deepening strategic partnership between New Delhi and Canberra.
This is for the first time that Rafales are participating in the biennial exercise, in which the IAF has been participating in 2018. In earlier editions of the drill, the IAF had fielded Su-30 MKI fighters, along with C-17 and C-130 aircraft.
The Indian contingent is being led by Group Captain Arun Kumar, Commanding Officer of No.101 Squadron, the Falcons that is based as Hasimara in the north-east. This is the IAF’s second Rafale unit, the fist being No.17 Squadron based at Ambala.
In an interview to a local publication, The Australia Today (TAT), which was also shared by the IAF, Gp Capt Kumar said that apart from achieving the training goals, the IAF team also participated in various community engagement and cultural programmes planned as part of the exercise. In fact, the IAF contingent won the multinational football tournament in which teams from all the countries had participated.
“We recently put up a stall in the International Day and also interacted with the Indian diaspora in Darwin over the weekend. Our Rafales flew in the flypast over Mindil Beach on July 23, which was witnessed by many locals,” he told TAT.
The IAF team also utilised spare time to soak in the diverse cultural experience that Northern Territory province had to offer.
“While the main objective of the exercise is to enhance interoperability through mutual exchange of knowledge and experience with our partner nations, we are looking forward to establishing long-lasting friendship and building camaraderie with our partners,” he said.
Operational objectives listed by him include assessing training, tactics and procedures against similarly competent world class air forces, establishing compatibility for collaborative engagements in future, supplying support integration with partner nations and assessing the training pattern and employment philosophy in a multinational domain for all participating elements.
