DAY & NIGHT

From sunrise to sunset, the Darwin air base buzzes with activity. For everyone, from the pilots to the ground crew, sleep is a luxury during exercises such as Exercise Pitch Black that encompasses day and night operations. PIONEER provides a round-the-clock view of the exercise, which was held from 16 Jul to 6 Aug.

A very long day finally comes to a close for the Rectification Team, who have stayed back to ensure that all the planes are in operational condition for the next day of the exercise. What looks like a routine job ends at 5 am instead of 2 am, because of a particularly stubborn defect. Team member ME2 Lim Chee Wee shrugs it off as just part of the natural process of his work.