The 165 Squadron is an Air Defence Group squadron of the Air Defence and Operations Command,

Republic of Singapore Air Force 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 establi ...

. It operates the

Rapier missile Rapier is a surface-to-air missile developed for the British Army to replace their towed Bofors 40/L70 anti-aircraft guns. The system is unusual as it uses a manual optical guidance system, sending guidance commands to the missile in flight over ...

purchased from

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

since 1983, providing air defence cover against low-flying aircraft. With its

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

, "''Pride in Protection''", the squadron conducted its first live-firing exercise at the Royal Artillery Range in

Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrid ...

, the United Kingdom in July 1984, and participated in its first overseas deployment exercise in 1985 in Exercise Air Thai-Sing (now known as Exercise Cope Tiger) at Chandy Range in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

History

The 165 Squadron, then known as 165 SADA, was officially formed on 1 August 1983 with the acquisition of the

after an air defence study in 1978. Formed at Changi Camp, it was established on 1 September 1985, before becoming fully operationally ready a year later. In 1987, the battalion shifted to Lim Chu Kang Camp II, where it is currently located. Full-time National Servicemen were added to its ranks in 1988. In July 2006, ADSD became ADOC (Air Defence Operations Command) and ADB became ADG (Air Defence Group). It current operates the Surface-to-Air PYthon and DERby - Short Range ( SPYDER-SR) ground-based air defence system.

References

External links

* Squadrons of the Republic of Singapore Air Force Western Water Catchment {{Singapore-stub