French fighter jets will train alongside Australia's F35s for the first time as part of an exercise between air and sea fleets.
The Rafale marine fighters from the French carrier strike group will fly with the Australian jets in Darwin as war games increase under the federal government's defence review.
Royal Australian Air Force detachment commander Squadron Leader Jordon Sander said the fighters from both sides would utilise aircraft carriers positioned at sea as Exercise Rastaban 25 tested both countries' interoperability.
"It's an opportunity for us to conduct some air combat manoeuvring in some of the amazing airspace that the Northern Territory has to offer," he told reporters.
"Every two years, we run Pitch Black where we invite a lot of international participants. But often we'll get some of our allies coming through the region and we will take opportunities to train with them when they're here."
French Navy detachment commander Rémi Gaudin, nicknamed Dingo, told reporters Darwin's monsoonal weather provided a challenging environment for pilots to navigate after an Italian fighter pilot ejected from their aircraft in 2024.
"The key thing is flying in the convective weather here can be tricky and we already saw that ... that's probably one of the biggest mistakes I can think of."
Planes were grounded for 24 hours after the Italian Air Force confirmed an EFA 2000 Typhoon aircraft encountered an unknown issue during a training flight, forcing the pilot to eject.
Exercise Talisman Sabre will take place mid-July with Darwin expected to play a bigger role alongside Townsville's air force base in Queensland.
