The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command (SADC) before renaming to its current name in 1975.
As one of the larger and more technologically advanced air forces in Southeast Asia, the RSAF has undertaken a significant role in Singapore's military defence strategy since its formation. The RSAF is one of the more modern air forces in the region.
The RSAF currently has four domestic airbases – Paya Lebar, Changi, Sembawang and Tengah – as well as a training detachment at the civilian airport of Seletar. The RSAF also has overseas detachments in various countries, most notably in Australia, France, Thailand and the United States. As of 2023, the RSAF has a strength of 6,000 active personnel.
History Early years In January 1968, the United Kingdom, which by this time had lost most of its global prestige especially after the Suez Crisis and was facing major financial difficulties that were greatly exacerbated by the devaluation of the pound, announced the imminent withdrawal of all its troops "East of Suez" by the end of 1971.Britain's Retreat from East of Suez: The Choice Between Europe and the World? by Houndmills and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. xv + 293 pp. $65.00 (cloth), , Published on H-Levant (December 2002) Prior to then, Singapore had depended heavily 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 land-based Singapore Army.
The predecessor to the RSAF, the SADC, was formed on 1 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 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 fledgling 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;Jefford 2001, pp. 48–49. as well as rotary-wing RAF aircraft such as the Bristol Belvedere, Westland Wessex and Westland Whirlwind.
Eight Cessna 172K aircraft—the SADC's first—arrived in May 1969 to be used for basic pilot training. By December, the first batch of students completed the course. Of these, six were sent to the UK to receive further training. On their return to Singapore in 1970, they were ready to operate the then newly acquired Hawker Hunter fighter aircraft.
The pace of training pilots and ground crew picked up gradually. On 1 August 1969, Minister for the Interior and Defence, Lim Kim San, inaugurated the Flying Training School (FTS) at Tengah Air Base (then known as RAF Tengah). The inauguration of FTS brought SADC closer to its goal of fulfilling the heavy responsibility of defending Singapore's airspace.
The subsequent arrival of the BAC Strikemasters in 1969, used for advanced phase flying training, meant that pilot trainees were now able to earn their initial wings locally rather than overseas. The first batch of locally trained fighter pilots were trained at the FTS and graduated in November 1970. Amongst this batch was 2LT Goh Yong Siang, who later rose to the appointment of Chief of Air Force on 1 July 1995. Gradually, the SADC had its own pilots, flying instructors, air traffic controllers, and ground crew.
When Britain brought forward its plan to withdraw its forces by September 1971, the SADC was suddenly entrusted with a huge responsibility and resources. Britain's former air bases—Tengah, Seletar, Sembawang and Changi—were handed over to the SADC, as well as its air defence radar station and Bloodhound II surface-to-air missiles.
In 1973, the SADC procured Shorts Skyvan search-and-locate aircraft and Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers. With a reliable mix of fighters, fighter-bombers, helicopters and transport aircraft, the SADC was ready to assume the functions of a full-fledged air force. On 1 April 1975, the SADC was renamed the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).
One of its first commanders was LTC Ee Tean Chye.
21st century The RSAF celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018 with the theme "Our Home, Above All". The RSAF celebrated its Golden Jubilee with an extended flypast during the national day parade on 9 August and also performed 2 sessions of aerial display at the Marina Barrage on 11 and 12 August.
Combat operations 2004–2008: Multi-National Force – Iraq. Aircraft participated in the Iraq War and returned home after two or three months of deployment in the Persian Gulf without any ground troops involved. Singapore's withdrawal was acknowledged on 23 December 2008. May 2007–June 2013: International Security Assistance Force. Deployment of close to 500 personnel including those from the Republic of Singapore Air Force, as part of Singapore's contributions to the multinational stabilisation and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. 2014–2015: Military intervention against ISIL. Offering military aid in the ongoing war on terror with a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and assistant intelligence analysts. Repatriation operations
In March 2026, the RSAF were involved in two repatriation flight from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, bringing a total of 299 Singaporeans and their dependents back to Singapore. Additionally, 24 Filipino workers were also aboard the second flight.
Description of logo The crest consists of the national coat of arms supported by the silver wings of the Air Force within a bowl of golden laurels.
List of chiefs of Air Force
Portrait Name Term of office Took office Left office Time in officeCommander, Singapore Air Defence Command 1 Ee Tean Chye 1970 1972 years Director Air Staff 1 John Francis Langer 1973 1975 years 2 W E Kelly 1975 1975 years 3 D J Rhodes 1975 1976 years 4 Murray Alexander Turnbull 1976 1977 years 5 Liu Ching Chuan 1977 1980 years Deputy Commander, Republic of Singapore Air Force 1 ColonelMichael Teo Eng Cheng 1980 1982 years 2 Gary Yeo Ping Yong 1982 1984 years (1) ColonelMichael Teo Eng Cheng 1984 1985 years Commander, Republic of Singapore Air Force 1 Brigadier-generalMichael Teo Eng Cheng 1985 1990 years Chief of Air Force 1 Brigadier-GeneralMichael Teo Eng Cheng 1 May 1990 31 August 1992 2 Major-GeneralBey Soo Khiang 1 September 1992 30 June 1995 3 Major-GeneralGoh Yong Siang 1 July 1995 30 June 1998 4 Major-GeneralRaymund Ng Teck Heng 1 July 1998 1 April 2001 5 Major-GeneralLim Kim Choon 1 April 2001 24 March 2006 6 Major-GeneralNg Chee Khern 24 March 2006 10 December 2009 7 Major-GeneralNg Chee Meng 10 December 2009 25 March 2013 8 Major-GeneralHoo Cher Mou 25 March 2013 28 March 2016 9 Major-GeneralMervyn Tan Wei Ming 28 March 2016 22 March 2019 10 Major-GeneralKelvin Khong Boon Leong 22 March 2019 22 March 2024 11 Major-GeneralKelvin Fan Sui Siong 22 March 2024 Incumbent
Organisation
Commands and units On 5 January 2007, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean announced that the Air Force organisation chart will be re-structured into five major commands, namely the Air Defence and Operations Command (ADOC), the Air Combat Command (ACC), the Participation Command (PC), the Air Power Generation Command (APGC) and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Command (UC). The first to be inaugurated was ADOC, along the restructuring announcement.
Air Defence and Operations Command is the principal agency in charge of planning and executing peacetime operations and air defence. ADOC is also responsible for providing ground-based air defence units of the RSAF.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Command was the second command to be inaugurated and become operational in May 2007.
The next command to be inaugurated was PC in January 2008.
The last two commands, ACC and APGC, were inaugurated together in August 2008 in conjunction with the RSAF 40th Anniversary. The ACC will bring together fighter and transport squadrons under one command, with central planning, control and execution of the air battle in operations. The APGC will enhance the missions of the ACC by ensuring that all air bases remain operational at all times, as well as improving the servicing and turn-around of aircraft to ensure continuous and responsive operations.
Air Combat Command (ACC) The ACC ("Poised And Deadly") is responsible for the planning, control and execution of the air battle in operations. It brings together all fighter and transport squadrons that will carry out these tasks under a single command which will be responsible for training the pilots and aircrew to think and operate in a fully integrated way. The ACC consists of the following groups: HQ ACC Integrated Systems Development Group (ISDG) Operations Development Group (ODG) Fighter Group (FG) ("Decisive And Deadly") 140 Squadron ("Stand Firm In Defence") 142 Squadron ("Honour And Glory") 143 Squadron ("We Dare") 145 Squadron ("Swift And Valiant") 149 Squadron ("Steadfast") Peace Carvin II – Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, USA Peace Carvin V – Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, USA Transport Group (TG) ("Project And Deliver") 111 Squadron ("Vigilance In Control") 112 Squadron ("Determined To Deliver") 121 Squadron ("Seek And Destroy") 122 Squadron ("Dependable")
Air Power Generation Command (APGC) The APGC ("Generate And Sustain") is set up to enable the RSAF to generate and sustain effective, timely and robust air power to meet the operational needs of the SAF. With the APGC, higher operational efficiency within each RSAF Air Base, and secondly, greater integration across the four bases are achieved. Units are classified under Air Base Operability (ABO) and Aircraft Generation (AcG). The APGC consists of the following groups: HQ APGC Operations Development Group (ODG) Airbase Medical Operations Centre (AMOC) Changi Air Base ("Together In Excellence") 208 Squadron ("Reliable And Vigilant Always") 508 Squadron ("Unrivalled Support") 608 Squadron ("Vigour And Vigilance") 708 Squadron ("Agile And Dependable") 808 Squadron ("Ready And Vigilant") - under 5 AELG Paya Lebar Air Base ("Strength Through Readiness") 207 Squadron ("Support Towards Excellence") 507 Squadron ("Forever Onward") 607 Squadron ("Dare Us") 707 Squadron ("Resolute And Responsive") 7 Air Engineering and Logistics Group (7 AELG) ("Pride In Support") 807 Squadron ("Swift And Effective") 817 Squadron ("Dedicated And Precise") Sembawang Air Base ("Swift And Resolute") 206 Squadron ("Precision In Control") 506 Squadron ("Steadfast Support") 606 Squadron ("Uphold And Persevere") 706 Squadron ("Swift And Reliable") 6 Air Engineering and Logistics Group (6 AELG) ("Swift And Steadfast") 806 Squadron ("Agile And Expeditious") 816 Squadron ("Precise And Dependable") Tengah Air Base ("Always Vigilant") 205 Squadron ("Excellence And Beyond") 505 Squadron ("Swift and Tenacious") 605 Squadron ("Alert And Steadfast") 705 Squadron ("Zeal In Duty")