The complicated deployment of eleven Spanish military aircraft in northern Australia

In 2024, the Spanish Air Force visited Australia and New Zealand on the occasion of the Pacific Skies deployment.

The most distant deployment of the Spanish Air Force in Australia and New Zealand
An excellent report from the Spanish Air Force about its deployment in Alaska

On that occasion, Spain sent four Eurofighter Typhoons (from Wing 14 in Albacete and Wing 11 in Morón) and one A400M from Wing 31 (Zaragoza) to the other side of the world. Two years later, this deployment was repeated, but with more aircraft and also destined for Australia, covering a huge distance in a very complex operation. The Spanish Air Force announced today that 6 Eurofighters from Wing 14, 1 Eurofighter from Wing 46, 2 A400Ms from Wing 31, and 2 A330 MRTTs from Wing 45 are participating in this Expeditionary Air Group, destined for the multinational exercise Pitch Black 26, the largest air maneuver in the Indo-Pacific region, will take place at the RAAF Darwin and RAAF Amberley bases in northern Australia.

This Expeditionary Air Group is led by the Air Combat Command (MACOM) and, in addition to the aforementioned aircraft and their crews, also includes the deployment to Australia of "the personnel necessary to guarantee the operational, logistical, technical, life support, and administrative functions required throughout the operation", according to a statement from the Spanish Air Force. This includes members of the Air Deployment Support Squadron (EADA), based in Zaragoza, and the Logistics Center for Armament and Experimentation (CLAEX), based in Torrejón de Ardoz.

The Pitch Black 26 exercise involves 12 countries: Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, United States and United Kingdom. Of these, Germany and Spain are the only ones that currently lack any territorial presence in the Indo-Pacific region, although they did have one in the past. It should be noted that Australia, Japan, and South Korea are three important NATO partners in that region, which implies the involvement of allied countries in this exercise at a time when the military presence of communist China is becoming increasingly threatening in the area.

These first four photos that you can see here were published today by the Spanish Air Force on its website and on The photo you see below was taken in Malaysia, where the A400M T.23-10 landed yesterday, a day ahead of the rest of the group. The 31st Wing has published more information on its Instagram account, which has been picked up on Twitter by Aeronaves Militares Españolas (an account I recommend you follow, as well as its excellent website, which offers very complete information).

The 31st Wing has indicated that the role of the two A400Ms, which handle logistical personnel transport (each with approximately 60 people on board) and cargo, is as follows: one arrives at the destination a day before the Eurofighters to meet them, while the other A400M takes off last, once all other aircraft of the Expeditionary Air Group have departed a given stop. Meanwhile, the A330 MRTTs are responsible for in-flight refueling of the fighters and transporting most of the personnel and some of the cargo.

The journey of the two A400m aircraft began on July 6th from Zaragoza. The following day, the two A330 MRTTs took off from Torrejón and the six Eurofighters from Albacete, with both formations joining in Barcelona to fly over the Mediterranean Sea to the Greek island of Crete. The next stop was Salalah Airport in Oman, before flying to Colombo (Sri Lanka) and then on to Malaysia, from where they will fly to Australia. Through its Twitter account, Aeronaves Militares Españolas is providing complete monitoring of this flight, as you can see above.

Aeronaves Militares Españolas has shared two posts from @nobu_sio, a Japanese spotter based in Kuala Lumpur, who this afternoon posted these two photos of two Spanish aircraft arriving at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Malaysia. Above, we see the Eurofighter C.16-45 (14-45) and below, the A330 MRTT TK.24-03 (45-03).

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Photos: Ejército del Aire.