Finland and Sweden sent official delegations to Exercise Pitch Black 26 for the first time, marking the two Scandinavian nations’ initial participation in Australia’s flagship multinational air combat exercise.
The delegations traveled to Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Darwin to observe the exercise, which runs from July 20 to August 7, 2026 across Northern Australia.
While neither country contributed aircraft to this year’s iteration, their presence signals a deliberate push to build strategic ties with the RAAF and other participating air forces beyond the exercise itself.
For the first time in the exercise’s history, Finland and Sweden have attended Exercise Pitch Black 2026 ➡️ Read the full story: https://t.co/ZzLdmzb5vx pic.twitter.com/xaBMaz6RSm
— Royal Australian Air Force (@AusAirForce) August 6, 2026
Finland eyes fighter integration ahead of F-35 rollout
The Finnish delegation focused primarily on fighter capability integration, a timely area of interest as the Finnish Air Force works to bring its own fleet of F-35A Lightning II jets into service. Officials sought to understand how Australia manages the coordination of fourth- and fifth-generation fighter aircraft within a large-scale, multinational exercise.
Lieutenant Colonel Ville Uggeldahl, Commanding Officer of Finland’s Air Warfare Centre, said his team was particularly interested in how Australia has integrated command and control systems, fast jet platforms, and coalition partners into a complex operation involving multiple nations.
“It is an honour to be here — we’re very eager to see how the fighter integration is planned and executed, noting there are many countries participating,” Uggeldahl said. He added that the Finnish team plans to bring lessons learned from Pitch Black back home to inform how Finland approaches similar exercises going forward.
Sweden focuses on maintenance and sustainment
Sweden’s delegation took a different angle, concentrating on how fast jet aircraft are maintained and sustained under the operational tempo of a major exercise. For the Swedish Air Force, Pitch Black offered a chance to observe how a partner nation operates and maintains aircraft at scale, across long distances and in demanding conditions.
Master Sergeant Ronny Hagman, an aircraft technician with the Swedish Air Force, said his team’s focus was on watching how the RAAF maintains its fleet of F/A-18F Super Hornets from a technical standpoint.
“It’s a fantastic gathering of different kinds of assets and with nations that have a lot of knowledge,” Hagman said. He noted that the exercise offered valuable insight into agile combat deployment and force posture, something Sweden hasn’t had much opportunity to observe firsthand. “We haven’t seen that much in operations, so it is a fantastic exercise to me,” he said.
A growing draw for allied air forces
For the RAAF, hosting delegations from Finland and Sweden underscores the exercise’s expanding role as a gathering point for air forces across both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions.
As the strategic environment grows more complex, Pitch Black appears to be drawing increasing interest from nations looking to strengthen ties with like-minded partners, even those not flying aircraft in the exercise itself.