Republic of Singapore Air Force
| Republic of Singapore Air Force | |
|---|---|
| Angkatan Udara Republik Singapura (Malay) 新加坡空军部队 (Chinese) சிங்கப்பூர் ஆகாயப்படை (Tamil) |
|
The Republic of Singapore Air Force's crest
|
|
| Founded | 1 April 1975 |
| Country |
 Singapore |
| Type | Air force |
| Role | Air supremacy, aerial defence, aerial warfare |
| Size | 13,500 personnel, 276 aircraft |
| Part of | Singapore Armed Forces |
| Nickname(s) | "RSAF" |
| Engagements | Iraq War, War in Afghanistan,Combined Task Force 151 |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of Air Force | Major General Mervyn Tan Wei Ming |
| Notable commanders |
Bey Soo Khiang Ng Chee Khern Ng Chee Meng Hoo Cher Mou |
| Insignia | |
| Ensign |  |
| Roundels |
.svg) .svg)
|
| Former flag (1977–1993) | .png) |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | F-15SG, AH-64D |
| Fighter | F-16C/D, F-15SG, F-5 |
| Interceptor | F-5S/T |
| Patrol | E-2C, G550 AEW&C, Fokker 50 ME2 |
| Reconnaissance | RF-5S |
| Trainer | M346, PC-21, TA-4SU, EC120 |
| Transport | KC-130B & C-130H, Fokker 50 UTL, KC-135R, CH-47D/SD, Super Puma |
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the air arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. It was first established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command (SADC). In 1975, it was renamed the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
In January 1968, the British announced the imminent withdrawal of all their troops east of Suez by the end of 1971. Prior to then, Singapore had depended completely on Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) for its air defence, while the newly established Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) had concentrated its efforts mainly on building up the Singapore Army.
The predecessor to the RSAF, the SADC, was formed in September 1968. The SADC's immediate task was to set up the Flying Training School to train pilots. Qualified flying instructors were obtained through Airwork Services Limited, a UK-based company specialising in defence services. Basic training for pilots was carried out using two Cessna light aircraft hired from the Singapore Flying Club. The SADC also enlisted the help of the Royal Air Force which introduced the first flying training syllabus and provided two ex-RAF pilots as instructors, as well as facilities and services at Seletar Airport. Finally, the first batch of six pilot trainees were sent to the United Kingdom in August 1968 to undergo training in various technical disciplines. The training was based on the Hawker Hunter, the SADC's first air defence fighter. The following month, another pioneer group of technicians, this time from the rotary wing, were sent to France to begin their technical training on the Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter. In 1969, a number of local RAF technicians were released to join the fledging SADC. These local technicians (local other ranks) had experience working on fixed-wing RAF aircraft such as the Hawker Hunter, Gloster Javelin, English Electric Canberra, English Electric Lightning and Avro Shackleton; as well as rotary-wing RAF aircraft such as the Bristol Belvedere, Westland Wessex and Westland Whirlwind.
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