Ep 149: Exercise Pitch Black in Australia

The Royal Air Force has demonstrated its ability to rapidly project combat power at scale during Exercise RHINO TITAN, delivering a large airborne force into Germany as part of a major Joint Airborne Task Force activity. Four RAF A400M Atlas aircraft. Hundreds of paratroopers. Two waves into a drop zone in Germany. And tonnes of vital equipment falling from the skies alongside them. This is Exercise RHINO TITAN,  a major demonstration of British military airborne power on a scale not seen for decades. But it's not just about getting troops on the ground. It's about delivering everything they need to fight, communicate and operate from the moment they land. So how do you launch an entire fighting force from the air, and what does it look, sound and feel like from inside the aircraft? We're going on board with Sqn Ldr Amy to find out.  

Ever wondered what it takes to put on one of the most spectacular displays in the skies? This time, we're going behind the scenes with the RAF Typhoon Display Team to discover the skill, precision and intense preparation that goes into getting ready for the display season. The roar of the engines, the breathtaking manoeuvres and the sheer power of the RAF Typhoon, but what does it REALLY take to make those spectacular displays happen? With the 2026 season over, preparations are already well under way for next year. From the engineers keeping the aircraft in peak condition to the planners working behind the scenes and the pilot bringing it all together in the cockpit, there's a lot more to the display than meets the eye. AS1 Chris Keen has been given a behind-the-scenes look at RAF Coningsby, revealing the people, precision and preparation that make the magic happen!  

From navigating a journey with a smartphone to enabling military operations across the globe, space has become an essential part of modern life. Yet for many, it remains largely unseen. Following this year's UK Space Power conference, Squadron Leader Amy spoke with Wing Commander Neil Henley, Chief of Staff of the Joint Force Space Component, the operational arm of UK Space Command to see how the domain reaches into every area of our lives.  

On Ops, they wear the same uniform, they live in the same conditions, and they share the same risks. But they go unarmed. That is perhaps except for a bag or two of Haribo. This week, Cpl Neil speaks with Padre Ashley Mitchell, Associate Chaplain at the Central Church of the RAF, St Clement Danes, to find out how RAF Chaplains support RAF personnel whether or not they have a faith or religion. 

RAF Brize Norton is one of the busiest air bases in the RAF, so imagine the impact on operations if the runway was put out of action. Well, that's exactly what's going on right now during a 4 month resurfacing project. InsideAIR spoke with RAF Brize Norton's Commander Air Wing to find out more. InsideAIR is produced for the Royal Air Force by RAF Media Reserves. Theme music by RAF Music Services.

This week, InsideAIR goes 'Down Under' to RAAF Darwin, Australia on Exercise Pitch Black.  International exercises don't just put aircraft and aircrew interoperability to the test. The aviators who move, mend, fuel and feed the RAF must bring their 'A game' too, as nothing in the air would happen without them. InsideAIR is produced for the Royal Air Force by RAF Media Reserves. Theme music by RAF Music Services.

They're the RAF's operational hub, they make critical decisions at pace, and they balance global commitments with Air Defence of the UK. They are 11 Group. This week, InsideAIR speaks with Air Vice-Marshal Steve Kilvington, Air Officer Commanding 11 Group, the person responsible for driving operational thinking across the Royal Air Force. InsideAIR is produced for the Royal Air Force by RAF Media Reserves. Theme music by RAF Music Services.

In this episode of InsideAIR, we're heading to one of the most important military locations in the Pacific, Hawaii, for Exercise RIMPAC 2026. Every other year, the island of Hawaii hosts a huge exercise with personnel from more than 30 nations working together across the air, sea and land domains. A multinational exercise like RIMPAC takes a significant amount of planning and preperation, as InsideAIR's Squadron Leader Amy Casey discovered when she joined some of those taking part.

In this episode, we'll catch up with the meteorologists from the Mobile Met Unit to find out about their work and we'll hear how military met forecasting came into being. Flt Lt Chris Sully chats to a current forecaster about the support they offer for operations and planning and we hear about arguably the most important forecast in history ahead of the release of a film telling the story in the lead up to D-Day.

Since we last caught up, the Defence Investment Plan, or DIP, has been published, focussing on the move toward the RAF becoming Europe's first sixth-generation air force. Technology will be front & centre of the future RAF and with that comes even closer ties with our industry & research partners. Amongst those partners is the Defence Science & Technology Laboratory, known as DSTL, and in this episode of InsideAIR, Flight Lieutenant Chris Sully goes behind the wire at their Porton Down Base in Wiltshire to see how that might look.