On 5 August 2026, H.E. Ms. Arjaree Sriratanaban, Ambassador of Thailand to Australia, joined the delegation led by Air Chief Marshall Seksan Kantha, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), for an inspection visit to meet RTAF personnel participating in Exercise Pitch Black 2026 at Darwin Air Force Base in Northern Territory. On this occasion, the Ambassador attended a briefing about the Exercise and the RTAF’s role and operation, as well as a lunch with Air Marshal Stephen Gareth Chappell, DSC, CSC, OAM, Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Pitch Black is a premier international air combat exercise hosted biennially by Australia. This year, the exercise was held from 20 July to 7 August 2026 and saw over 2,500 personnel from 21 allied and partner nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, along with over 100 fighter jets and supporting aircraft. The RTAF had 95 personnel and 5 F-16 A/B Fighting Falcon fighter jets, or F-16 MLU, joining.