A major military exercise came close to becoming an international tragedy after a fighter jet crashed in a remote area south of Darwin.
The Italian fighter jet was taking part in the biennial Exercise Pitch Black event when it crashed near the Daly River in the Northern Territory on Wednesday.
The office of Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed that the pilot was ejected from the plane before the crash. No fatalities have been reported.
A search and rescue helicopter assisted in recovering the pilot, a Defense spokesperson said.
“The exercise participant immediately contacted the crew in the area by radio after being deployed,” the spokesperson said.
‘The pilot arrived at the hospital by helicopter around 1:30 p.m. (local time)’
All flights for the event were cancelled for the remainder of the day.
The cause of the crash is not yet known.
Fighter jets fly in formation near Darwin as part of Exercise Pitch Black
According to Matt Thistlethwaite, assistant secretary of defense, 4,500 troops from 20 countries took part in the training, six of which were first-time participants.
In July 2023, a decorated military pilot and three others were killed when their helicopter crashed into the sea near Lindeman Island in Queensland during a military training exercise.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s crash, Mr Thistlethwaite stressed that police had learned lessons from previous incidents and that participants were given detailed support, communications and assurances about flight altitudes and configurations.
“It takes 10 hours to plan a mission like this that lasts about an hour in the air,” he told Sky News earlier on Wednesday.
“It has taken a lot of effort from our men and women to ensure that we got this many aircraft here,” he said in comments published by the Australian Defence Force on Friday.
Pitch Black, one of the largest tactical air operations in the world, is organised by the Australian Royal Air Force and involves more than 140 aircraft.
The exercise is being held from RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal.
The air force website describes the operation as “the most important flying activity to strengthen international engagement and improve our ability to work with partners abroad.”
“Activities like Exercise Pitch Black contribute to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, build connectivity across the globe, strengthen regional security, and increase regional resilience to transnational threats,” the force said.