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20/09/2024

Rare - Japan Maritime Self Defence Force Kawasaki P-1 as "Japanese Navy 1-3" arriving into RAAF Base WIliamtown on Friday afternoon.

防衛省　海上自衛隊　(Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force)

08/09/2024

Day two of AIRPOWER24 with another fantastic lineup of demonstration teams and displays to huge crowds at Zeltweg Air Base. Check out the last photo for a small glimpse at the crowds in front of part of the static lineup!

07/09/2024

Rainy skies did little to deter large crowds from descending on Zeltweg Air Base for day one of AIRPOWER24! It was a fantastic day of flying in the mountains of Sytria with a range of demonstration teams on display from across Europe alongside a first visit from the U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team!

04/09/2024

The Royal Australian Air Force's 82nd Wing, stationed at RAAF Base Amberley, is currently hosting a deployment of three B-2 Spirit stealth bombers. These aircraft are undertaking a Bomber Task Force (BTF) deployment from their home base of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The B-2 Spirits are assigned to two distinguished units: the 509th Bomb Wing and the 131st Bomb Wing.

This deployment exemplifies the ongoing strategic partnership and operational collaboration between the United States and Australia, showcasing the advanced capabilities of the B-2 bombers.

31/08/2024

The heat didn't stop crowds from flocking to the Brisbane CBD this afternoon for a series of thrilling displays today by the Royal Australian Air Force and Australian Army!

The countdown is now on for next year's Riverfire performances! What was your favourite display from today?

30/08/2024

The Royal Australian Air Force putting on a lunchtime display with two F/A-18F Super Hornets lighting it up over the Brisbane CBD in preparation for Riverfire tomorrow evening!

Flying displays kick off from 4:55pm tomorrow afternoon with fireworks at 7:00pm.

29/08/2024

A thrilling first day of practice displays in the Brisbane CBD today for this year's Riverfire as part of the Brisbane Festival! Both the Royal Australian Air Force and Australian Army graced the skies today with their C-17 Globemaster III and ARH Tigers!

Tomorrow the F/A-18F Super Hornet will be on show at 12:30pm!

19/08/2024

This year's Bomber Task Force deployment to RAAF Base Amberley is in full swing with all three B-2 Spirits getting into the air throughout the day. 'Banjo 82' is seen here on recovery this evening just after sunset on return from off the coast of New South Wales.

18/08/2024

Third and final day of the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast for 2024! The day drew to a close with approximately 250,000 attendees visiting Surfers Paradise across the weekend. All eyes are now on the 2025 edition expected to be held yet again in August!

17/08/2024

Day two on the Gold Coast for the Pacific Airshow! Clear skies and perfect temperatures brought a packed out crowd to Surfers Paradise.

Only one more day to go with another packed flying program in store for tomorrow! What was your favourite moment from today's display?

16/08/2024

Spirits return to Australia!

Under the cover of darkness last night a pair of B-2 Spirits arrived into RAAF Base Amberley as 'Clone 11' and 'Clone 13'. This is the second deployment to Australia in recent times following their last visit in 2022 supporting the Enhanced Cooperation Initiative between Australia and the United States.

16/08/2024

Day one of the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast for 2024! A fantastic array of aircraft on with a number of firsts including the F-22 Raptor from the United States Air Force and Greg Colyer's T-33 Shooting Star.

Two more days to go with large crowds expected to descend on the Gold Coast over the weekend. Gates open from 9am tomorrow with performances commencing from 10am!

13/08/2024

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds escorting the Coulson Aviation - Next Gen Firefighting Martin JRM Mars on a flypast of Patricia Bay prior to her final landing. Originally delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1946 with the name 'Hawaii Mars', this aircraft was later converted to an aerial firefighter in Vancouver Island. For 47 years, 'Hawaii Mars' was used to defend communities from wildifires in British Columbia. It's no surprise that tens of thousands of people came out to say one last thank you and goodbye as she arrives at her forever home in the British Columbia Aviation Museum!

02/08/2024

And that's a wrap for Exercise Pitch Black 2024! After more than 1700 missions over the past three weeks, the 2024 edition of Pitch Black drew to a close today. From first time participants to regular attendees, approximately 4400 personnel and 140 aircraft took part this year!

Still after a military fix? Keep an eye out on our social media channels and website as we still have plenty of content to share from the last few weeks.

A huge thank you for the continued support by the Royal Australian Air Force and Defence Australia and their respective media teams for allowing us to capture and share this exercise!

28/07/2024

Ever wondered what it's like to stand alongside the runway during Exercise Pitch Black? Join us for nearly fifty arrivals and departures from RAAF Base Darwin during a busy morning of flying activity.

Prefer to watch on YouTube? Check it out there using the link below:
https://youtu.be/N2SCVd_wRts

25/07/2024

It's lights out at Exercise Pitch Black with night operations in full swing. As the second week of the exercise draws to a close, we take a look at our Monday evening view alongside the runway at RAAF Base Darwin.

The vast airspace of the Australian outback provides aircrews with an opportune chance for large-scale employment of a variety of military assets. Night flying will continue into next week, with operations wrapping up on Thursday night.

20/07/2024

This afternoon the German Air Force and the Spanish Air and Space Force arrived into RAAF Base Darwin for Exercise Pitch Black 2024. They were joined by additional elements from the French Air and Space Force.

Arriving direct from Japan, these aircraft are currently taking part in Pacific Skies 24, a large-scale deployment involving 48 aircraft and participation in five exercises across North America, Asia and Australia. A mixture of Eurofighter Typhoons and additional Dassault Rafales were supported by four A330 MRTTs.

19/07/2024

Highlights from the Mindil Beach Flying Display as part of Exercise Pitch Black 2024. A fantastic array of aircraft were on show from 16 nations, with a total of 50 aircraft lighting up the Northern Territory skies against a fiery sunset and packed crowd.

The Marina Militare AV-8B+ Harrier and F-35B Lightning II hovering display and Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet handling display were noted as crowd favourites with every country offering their own unique flair to the lineup.

Tomorrow morning, RAAF Base Darwin will be open to the public as part of a free open day with the ticket allocation already exhausted. Gates will be open from 9:00am till 4:00pm, with a shuttle bus running to and from the Darwin Showgrounds.

11/07/2024

Exercise Pitch Black 2024 is right around the corner with the exercise officially kicking off tomorrow! Flying activity will be taking place from the 15th of July to 1st of August, with over 140 aircraft from sixteen nations lighting up the Top End.

Today's media launch at RAAF Base Darwin provided a fantastic insight into the exercise and what's on offer to the public for 2024.

For more information head over to our launch article at: https://theaviationstudio.com/2024/07/11/exercise-pitch-black-2024-kicks-off/

28/06/2024

Exercise Dawn Strike returned to RAAF Base Williamtown this morning after a five year hiatus! Over thirty aircraft participated in this year's iteration, marking the graduation of new Air Warfare Instructors within the Royal Australian Air Force.

Dawn Strike comes off the tail-end of Exercise Diamond Storm held in the Northern Territory, the culminating activity of the biennial six-month Air Warfare Instructor Course (AWIC). 2024 also marks the 70th anniversary of the inaugural Fighter Combat Instructor Course which has since developed into AWIC.

Early morning departures from Townsville, Amberley and Williamtown accumulated with a series of high-speed low-level flyovers of Williamtown.

24/06/2024

Less then three weeks to go till Exercise Pitch Black 2024 kicks off! More than 140 aircraft are set to participate in the largest iteration of the exercise to date with three weeks of flying in Australia's Top End. This year will see four newcomers with Italy, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Spain set to join the flying lineup.

Here's a small look back at a snippet of the action from 2022!

22/06/2024

Exercise Crimson Dawn 24-1 is currently underway at Royal Australian Air Force Base Townsville, the final stage of the OPCON course for new F/A-18F pilots. Several Super Hornets are seen here departing with a pair of 500 pound GBU-38 JDAMs on their way to the range.

This year marks the fourth year of operational conversion training taking place in country under No. 82 Wing Training Flight. Crews previously completed their training with the U.S. Navy at one of their two Super Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadrons.

The exercise will conclude late next week with newly-minted crews expected to return to RAAF Base Amberley on Friday.

11/06/2024

Over the weekend four F-35C's from AIRTEVRON NINE (VX-9) arrived into RAAF Base Williamtown with the support of a KC-10A from Travis Air Force Base. The 'Vampires' will be working with Australia's No. 3 Squadron over the coming weeks.

26/04/2024

Earlier this week, our photographer Zach caught this 4-ship callsign 'COBRA' in the low level between Ulludulla and Newcastle. The 4-ship had earlier done a flypast in Canberra in support of the funeral for Air Marshal Errol McCormack AO (retired).

19/04/2024

Seven 'Snipers' from VMFT-401 heading out of MCAS Yuma, Arizona for a large scale exercise off the Southern California Coast.

The F-5 is expected to remain in service with both the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy for many years to come. Late last month, the first of 22 former Swiss F-5s arrived in the United States as part of the ARTEMIS program to bolster their fleets.

26/01/2024

50 years of the F-16 Fighting Falcon!

Earlier this month marked fifty years since the first flight of the General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) F-16 with over 4,600 airframes built to date. Operated by 28 countries across the globe, the type will remain in production for years to come. In celebration, more then 40 F-16s converged on Edwards Air Force Base with an event hosted by the 416th Flight Test Squadron.

23/01/2024

Currently the 55th Wing have their WC-135R Constant Phoenix stationed at RAAF Base Amberley seen here departing for some base line runs out in the Indian Ocean yesterday. The WC-135R is an atmospheric-collection aircraft which supports national-level intelligence consumers by collecting particulate debris and gaseous effluents from accessible regions of the atmosphere in support of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Offutt Air Force Base

17/01/2024

Paying a visit to Sydney Airport over the weekend was this United States Air Force KC-10A Extender. Currently on a worldwide farewell tour, '84-0191' has visited Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia in recent days. With the remainder of the fleet set to be retired by September this year, this is probably the last chance to have caught the KC-10 Down Under.

Thanks to Sydney HeliTours for supplying the photos!

15/01/2024

Taking a look back on the 2023 edition of Belgian Air Force Days as the airshow made its return to Kleine Brogel Air Base after a five-year hiatus.

Head over to our website for a closer look using the link below!

https://theaviationstudio.com/2023/09/16/the-belgian-air-force-days-return-to-kleine-brogel/

10/12/2023

Earlier this week the Royal Australian Air Force bid farwell to their AP-3C Orion fleet after close to 56 years of service. On Tuesday morning, A9-657 and A9-660 made their final flights out of RAAF Base Edinburgh along the South Australian and Victorian coastlines.

Following the main retirement of the fleet in 2018, these two remaining airframes received little public acknowledgement over the next five years. Operating in the electronic warfare role, they will be replaced by the MC-55A Peregrine.

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Videos

Airside Action at Exercise Pitch Black 2024

Ever wondered what it's like to stand alongside the runway during Exercise Pitch Black? Join us for nearly fifty arrivals and departures from RAAF Base Darwin during a busy morning of flying activity. Prefer to watch on YouTube? Check it out there using the link below: https://youtu.be/N2SCVd_wRts

Mindil Beach Flying Display | Exercise Pitch Black 2024

Highlights from the Mindil Beach Flying Display as part of Exercise Pitch Black 2024. A fantastic array of aircraft were on show from 16 nations, with a total of 50 aircraft lighting up the Northern Territory skies against a fiery sunset and packed crowd. The Marina Militare AV-8B+ Harrier and F-35B Lightning II hovering display and Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet handling display were noted as crowd favourites with every country offering their own unique flair to the lineup. Tomorrow morning, RAAF Base Darwin will be open to the public as part of a free open day with the ticket allocation already exhausted. Gates will be open from 9:00am till 4:00pm, with a shuttle bus running to and from the Darwin Showgrounds.

Riverfire 2023 | RAAF EA-18G Sunset Display

#ICYMI here's yesterday's Riverfire flyover with the Royal Australian Air Force EA-18 Growler! Brisbane Festival Australian Retirement Trust

Riverfire 2023 | RAAF EA-18G Growler flying through Brisbane CBD

'Sabre 12' sending it through the Brisbane CBD in preparation for Riverfire tomorrow! Royal Australian Air Force Brisbane Festival Australian Retirement Trust