The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will start training pilots from the German Air Force, or Luftwaffe, from 2025.
The announcement was made by Australia’s Chief of Air Force (CAF) Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, DSC, CSC, OAM on August 10, 2024.
Chappell said the announcement follows the recent signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) between him and German Air Force Lieutenant, General Ingo Gerhartz.
The announcement, made in both English and German, said the collaboration goes beyond training and symbolizes the “mutual benefits and strong ties” between the two countries.
“By working together, we enhance our capabilities and emphasize our commitment to global security,” Chappell said.
Relations between the RAAF and the Luftwaffe deepend in 2022, when the German Air Force participated in Exercise Pitch Black for the first time.
Hosted by Australia every two years, Exercise Pitch Black focuses on large force employment missions involving large numbers of international aircraft.
“The Indo-Pacific is of great importance to Germany. We share the same values with many partners in this region,” Gerhartz said in 2022.
“Defending those values in case of a war emergency and being able to support our partners is something that needs to be practiced,” Gerhartz added.
In 2022, the German government also agreed to procure F-35 aircraft to replace the Tornado weapon system, with Pitch Black providing an opportunity to integrate more closely with Australia’s F-35A.
“The F-35 aircraft will further expand the broad spectrum of our capabilities. Since the Royal Australian Air Force is already flying these combat aircraft, we will be able to learn from them as well,” Gerhartz said at the time.