Changi Air Base (East), or Changi East Complex is a facility extending the facilities of

Changi Air Base The Changi Air Base is an airfield military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) located at Changi, in the eastern tip of Singapore. Sited at two locations to the Changi Air Base (East), east and Changi Air Base (West), west ...

, the existing facilities hence renamed

Changi Air Base (West) The Changi Air Base is an airfield military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) located at Changi, in the eastern tip of Singapore. Sited at two locations to the east and west of Singapore Changi Airport, it co-shares runwa ...

. Built on a 2 square kilometre site of reclaimed land, the new base was located approximately 2 kilometres east of

Singapore Changi Airport Singapore Changi Airport, commonly known as Changi Airport , is a major civilian international airport that serves Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. As one of the world's busiest airports by international passe ...

and approximately 1.5 kilometres west of

Changi Naval Base Changi Naval Base (CNB), officially known as the RSS ''Singapura'' – Changi Naval Base, is a naval base of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). Located about 1.5 kilometres east of Changi Air Base (East) and 3.5 kilometres east of Singapore C ...

. Groundbreaking took place on 15 July 2002 and it was officially opened on 29 November 2004. A new runway (02R/20L) was built and the length was approximately 2,748 metres (9,015 ft), it has since been lengthened to 4,000 metres.

Location

The new base houses the

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 ...

's 145 Squadron, which comprises the extended-range, attack-oriented F-16D Block 52+ Fighting Falcons, as well as the 208 Squadron, the 808 Squadron and the 508 Squadron. The proximity of the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

to the air base gives it an advantage over

Tengah Air Base The Tengah Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) located in the Western Water Catchment, in the western part of Singapore. The air base is the most important airfield of the RSAF as it houses the majo ...

and

Paya Lebar Air Base The Paya Lebar Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) located at Airport Road in Paya Lebar, in the eastern region of Singapore. The airbase goes by the motto of ''Strength Through Readiness''. It was ...

as the F-16 jets from Changi can make a faster and shorter trip out to training areas over the South China Sea, compared to their counterparts from other air bases. The 145 Squadron can save as much as five to seven minutes of transit time, which means they also save on fuel and further reducing costs. In the future, the runway will be extended to 4,000 metres to accommodate further growth in passenger, cargo and air traffic as construction of Terminal 5 gets underway. As part of Changi Airport's expansion and to accommodate the eventual relocation of Paya Lebar Airbase, the air base was closed for expansion works and re-opened at the end of 2018.

Organisation

* 112 Sqn 6 Airbus A330 MRTT (Aerial refuelling) * 145 Squadron with 20 F-16D Blk 52+ (Strike)

Singapore Airshow

Also, located just beyond the northern edge

perimeter fencing Demarcation of a perimeter, when the protection of assets, personnel or buildings is required, is normally affected by the building of a perimeter fence system. The level of protection offered varies according to the threat level to the perimeter. D ...

of the air base is the permanent venue of the new Changi Exhibition Centre for the

Singapore Airshow The Singapore Airshow is a biennial aerospace event held in Singapore, debuted in 2008. It hosts high-level government and military delegations, as well as senior corporate executives around the world, while serving as a global event for leadin ...

which was completed in September 2007 and had hosted the recently inaugurated

2008 in February 2008. The most recent Airshow was held from 11–16 February 2020.

40th Anniversary of Five Power Defence Arrangements

On 1 November 2011, Singapore hosted the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA)'s 40th-anniversary celebrations, with the defence ministers, aircraft and servicemen from all five signatory countries converging on the air base to participate in the event. Amongst the participating aircraft spotted roosting at the dispersal area of the air base were Republic of Singapore Air Force's F-15SG Strike Eagle,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

's Typhoon FGR4,

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

's F/A-18A Hornets,

Royal Malaysian Air Force The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF, ms, Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia; TUDM; Jawi: ) was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force (; ). However, its roots can be traced back to the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force format ...

's F/A-18D Hornets and Royal New Zealand Air Force's P-3K2 Orions. Later, a gala dinner was hosted by Singapore's defence minister, Ng Eng Hen, at Singapore's Istana whereupon they called on the

Prime Minister of Singapore The prime minister of Singapore is the head of government of the Republic of Singapore. The president appoints the prime minister, a Member of Parliament (MP) who in their opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of the majority of ...

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...

, to discuss a multitude of issues. Codenamed ''Exercise Bersama Lima'', the three days joint exercise is expected to test the readiness and cooperation between all participating countries and should conclude on 4 November 2011.

References

External links

RSAF web page on Changi Air Base (CAB)Official OpeningNews article on new airbaseSatellite image of Changi Airbase (East) and 02R/20L runway
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