"It is a learning experience for us as a small air force and it
helps to build our air force," said Major Randall Hepota, one of
six PNG Air Force pilots flying three small P-750 turboprop
aircraft.
At home, the New Zealand-made plane can take off and land in
very short spaces and transports supplies and troops to border
areas in treacherous mountain terrain.
Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Vavar, the commanding officer of PNG
Air Wing, said Pitch Black offered exposure to the world's best
pilots and was helping PNG learn how to integrate with a large
coalition force.
"We are becoming an air force. Flying in Papua New Guinea is a
must," he said in an interview on Saturday at RAAF Base Darwin.
"Eighty percent of the population live in rural areas - so the
only way you can get access to them is to fly."
The PNG air force could land closer to the site of the Enga
landslide disaster in May to deliver aid than larger Royal
Australian Air Force planes, he said.
"We have been training with the Royal Australian Air Force for
several years and the Enga landslide was the first time we had
to deploy," he said.
The small PNG planes have been landing in remote Jabiru to
deliver supplies during Pitch Black, as well as RAAF Tindal
Base, home to Australia's F-35 fighter jets.
Australia's Governor General, Sam Mostyn, inspected one of the
PNG aircraft at the RAAF Darwin base open day.
Australia and the United States last year struck defense deals
with PNG, which is also being courted by Beijing, amid strategic
competition by major powers in the Pacific Islands.
"Papua New Guinea is one of our key allies in the region," said
Fiona Pearce, senior Australian Defense Force officer for RAAF
Tindal.
"Their survival and our survival is interdependent," she added.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Darwin; Editing by Tomasz
Janowski)
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