Australian F-111 crews participated in Exercise Pitch Black, the Royal Australian Air Force’s biennial, multinational air combat exercise, for the last time. Pitch Black, which ran from 16 July through 6 August 2010, involved a combination of day and night flying from RAAF Darwin and RAAF Tindal. The Australian Army and the Royal Singapore, Royal New Zealand, and Royal Thai Air Forces participated in offensive counterair and close air support operations during the exercise. The RAAF is the only remaining F-111 operator. Its F-111s, flown by crews from 6 Squadron at RAAF Amberley near Brisbane, were originally expected to be withdrawn from service in 2009, but retirement was postponed until late 2010.
