Formed in June 1940, RAAF Base Darwin was very rapidly at the front line of Australia's defences at the outbreak of war in the Pacific. Darwin and its satellite fields housed a multitude of Australian and US units, operating throughout the South-West Pacific.

Today RAAF Darwin is a busy operational base, hosting many exercises each year which includes Exercise Pitch Black, a multi-national exercise which attracts a large number of visiting aircraft and a spectacular for Darwin residents.