The 149 Squadron "Shikra" of 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 establis ...
is a fighter-bomber squadron based at
Paya Lebar Air Base
The Paya Lebar Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) in Singapore located at Airport Road in Paya Lebar, in the eastern region of Singapore. The airbase goes by the motto of ''Strength Through Readin ...
. The squadron goes by the
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...
"''Steadfast''" with the
Shikra
The shikra (''Tachyspiza badia'') is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found widely distributed in Asia and Africa where it is also called the little banded goshawk. The African forms may represent a separate species but have usual ...
adopted as its mascot.
History
Based at
Paya Lebar Air Base
The Paya Lebar Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) in Singapore located at Airport Road in Paya Lebar, in the eastern region of Singapore. The airbase goes by the motto of ''Strength Through Readin ...
, 149 Squadron was inaugurated on 1 June 1985 as one of the RSAF's fighter squadrons operating in the interceptor role. The squadron initially operated the supersonic
F-5E/F Tiger II fighter aircraft, before converting to the improved
F-5S/T Tiger-IIs fighter aircraft in the early 1990s, these were retrofitted with new state-of-the-art avionics giving the aircraft capability of carrying out both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
On 5 April 2010, the squadron was re-inaugurated by Defence Minister
Teo Chee Hean
Teo Chee Hean ( zh, s=张志贤, poj=Tioⁿ Chì-hiân, p=Zhāng Zhìxián, first=poj; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean former politician and two-star rear-admiral who served as Senior Minister of Singapore and Coordinating Minister for ...
in an RSAF ceremony at Paya Lebar Air Base, with the arrival of five
F-15SG strike fighter
In current military parlance, a strike fighter is a multirole combat aircraft designed to operate both as an attack aircraft and as an air superiority fighter. As a category, it is distinct from fighter-bombers, and is closely related to the co ...
s flown back the week before from
Mountain Home Air Force Base
Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the Western United States, western United States. Located in Southwestern Idaho, southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, Idaho, Elmore County, the base is southwest ...
in the United States.
Information
The tail is adorned with a beige checkered tailband. The squadron's logo is centered with the serial number on the base of the tail.
Achievements
The squadron found itself actively involved in several major multilateral exercises such as Exercise Bersama Shield and Bersama Lima under the ambit of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), and Exercise Cope Tiger with the US and Thailand air forces in 2007. The squadron has also won the Best Fighter Squadron award in the
Singapore Armed Forces Best Unit Competition
The Singapore Armed Forces Best Unit Competition is an annual competition which confers awards of recognition to the most outstanding units of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in combat readiness, operational proficiency and administrative excell ...
eight times, in 1986, 1988, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2018.
Aircraft operated
#15× F-5S & 1× F-5T Tiger-IIs (1985–2010)
#24× F-15SG Strike Eagles (2010–present)
Photo gallery
File:RSAF F-5.jpg, An F-5S Tiger-IIs of 149 Sqn taxiing towards the runway.
File:RSAF Boeing F-15SG Strike Eagle DRW Butler.jpg, 149 Sqn's F-15SG at Darwin Airport
Darwin International Airport is a Domestic Airport, domestic and International Airport, international airport serving Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It is the List of the busiest airports in Australia, eleventh busiest airport in Au ...
, 2011.
References
External links
RSAF web page on 149 Sqn & Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB)
Squadrons of the Republic of Singapore Air Force
Paya Lebar
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