This article is published in Aviation Week & Space Technology and is free to read until Sep 20, 2024. If you want to read more articles from this publication, please click the link to subscribe.
Eurofighter Typhoons from Spain (left) and Germany participated in Pacific Skies at Darwin, and technicians from both countries trained to maintain each other’s Typhoons.
European governments are increasingly vocal about their ambition to play a security role in the Indo-Pacific region, but the recent Exercise Pitch Black, hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force, highlighted some of the challenges when operating so far afield.
Several European countries dispatched more than 60 aircraft combined to the Asia-Pacific region in recent weeks to demonstrate that they can fly halfway around the world to protect their trade routes and territorial interests. Beyond honing deployment skills, some of the participants also sought experience for operational lessons and for informing future equipment requirements.
- Air forces send subtle messages in Pacific projections
- Logistics are still the great hurdle to rapid and sustained deployment
France, Germany and Spain, partners on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program to develop a next-generation fighter, were among the countries participating in the exercise. Brig. Gen. Guillaume Thomas, the French mission commander, said the long deployment and realistic wargames could help shape the requirement and processes for the future system.
“It’s very important for us to be able to work [together] to see that we have the same common understanding of our operation,” he says, adding that the experience “will help us to have a better understanding of what we want for FCAS.”
As part of the drill, France, Germany and Spain in June embarked on Exercise Pacific Skies, which involved nine Airbus A400M transport aircraft, six Airbus A330 multirole tanker transports (MRTT), four Dassault Rafale fighters and a dozen each of Eurofighter Typhoons and Panavia Tornados. The route took them to Alaska, then Japan, before the group split up for Pitch Black and the biennial Rimpac maritime warfare exercise.
“Pacific Skies is the most complex deployment we have ever carried out in the history of the German Air Force,” a Luftwaffe official told Aviation Week. A crucial objective, he added, was dealing with the uncertainties of operating far from home.
The Luftwaffe has been trying to refine its logistics operations to sustain Indo-Pacific operations, although they remain sizable. When the service dispatched six Typhoons to Pitch Black two years ago, it forward-deployed 56 containers to Darwin, Australia. The footprint was smaller this time, the service said.
Germany also embarked on the exercise to validate the ability to cooperate with other Typhoon operators, namely Spain. Technicians from both countries have trained to support each other’s aircraft.
“We have a common maintenance agreement with Germany since we fly the Typhoons, and that is being developed every day, making it much easier to share experiences and parts,” a Spanish participant told Aviation Week.
The French Air and Space Force took a different approach, at least with a second contingent of fighters, tankers and transports that it dispatched as part of Exercise Griffin Strike, a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force drill with the UK Royal Air Force elements that headed to the Darwin region via the Middle East. The aircraft left without forward-deployed logistics, relying on spares and support carried by MRTTs and A400Ms. It was one of the leanest logistics footprints possible, the French detachment lead said during a stopover in Singapore.
That lean operation was not problem-free. Some of the Rafale fighters encountered technical issues during stopovers in the United Arab Emirates and Japan.
Like their German and Spanish counterparts, France and the UK explored maintenance collaboration since both forces operate the A400M and MRTT.
Italy took a more independent approach this time, but its air force is also looking at partnering arrangements for future operations. Italy initially deployed the Cavour aircraft carrier with embarked AV-8B Harrier II Plus aircraft. The air force and navy followed with more than 26 aircraft, consisting of Lockheed Martin F-35A/Bs, Typhoons, G550 airborne early-warning aircraft, Boeing KC-767 tankers and Lockheed C-130J transports.
But Italian Air Force detachment commander Brig. Gen. Filippo Nannelli said Italy is looking to partner with Australia, a fellow F-35 operator, to help with support and infrastructure for the aircraft. Although an Italian Typhoon crashed during the Pitch Black drill, the pilot ejected, and flight operations resumed the following day.
Operationally, the air forces also tried to validate that they could effectively orchestrate a pincer maneuver into the Indo-Pacific region by deploying to Asia via the Middle East and North America.
“It’s important to have different ways, different manners to act,” Thomas, the French commander, said.
Related Content
