Exercise Pitch Black 2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic

The 2020 edition of the exercise Pitch Black has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Lockdown.

Pitch Black

Pitch Black is a multilateral air combat training exercise hosted by Australia. The 2020 event was originally scheduled between July and August. It has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis and the next event would be held in 2022. In the 2018 edition, the Indian Air Force had deployed 145 personnel, four Su-30MKI fighters, one C-130 and one C-17 transport aircraft.

AUSINDEX

AUSINDEX is a bilateral naval exercise between India and Australia. It is a biennial exercise involving the 2 navies and was held for the first time in India in 2015. Last year’s AUSINDEX event saw the participation of the largest Australian contingent ever to India- with more than 1,000 personnel.

Other Aspects of India- Australia Defence Cooperation

• The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement- expected to be concluded soon.
• A maritime cooperation agreement including MDA or Maritime Domain Awareness to strengthen the partnership.
• Australia pitched for trilateral cooperation among India, Australia and Indonesia to identify ways to safeguard the Indian Ocean.
• Memorandum on Defence Cooperation 2006
• Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation 2009
• Framework for Security Cooperation 2014