149 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force
Encyclopedia
The 149 Squadron "Shikra" of the Republic of Singapore Air Force
is a fighter-bomber squadron based at Paya Lebar Air Base, the squadron goes by the motto
"Steadfast" with the Shikra
adopted as its mascot.
On 5 April 2010, the squadron was re-inaugurated by Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean
in an RSAF ceremony at Paya Lebar Air Base, with the arrival of five F-15SG Strike fighter
s flown back the week before from Mountain Home AFB.
) for the fifth time in 2008; its past achievements being in 1987, 1988, 2002 and 2004.
Republic of Singapore Air Force
The Republic of Singapore Air Force is the air arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. It was first established in 1968 as the Singapore Air Defence Command...
is a fighter-bomber squadron based at Paya Lebar Air Base, the squadron goes by the motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
"Steadfast" with the Shikra
Shikra
The Shikra 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 usually been considered as subspecies of the Shikra...
adopted as its mascot.
History
Based at Paya Lebar Air Base, 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, but has been operating the improved F-5S/T Tiger-IIs fighter aircraft since 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 Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean
Teo Chee Hean
Teo Chee Hean is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he is currently the country's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Home Affairs and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security, and a Member of Parliament for the Pasir Ris-Punggol Group...
in an RSAF ceremony at Paya Lebar Air Base, with the arrival of five F-15SG Strike fighter
Strike fighter
In a current military parlance, a strike fighter is a multi-role combat aircraft designed to operate primarily in the air-to-surface attack role while also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. As a category, it is distinct from fighter-bombers...
s flown back the week before from Mountain Home AFB.
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 the year of 2007. Also, the squadron has won the Best Fighter Squadron award (Singapore Armed Forces Best Unit CompetitionSingapore 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 in combat readiness, operational proficiency and administrative excellence...
) for the fifth time in 2008; its past achievements being in 1987, 1988, 2002 and 2004.
Aircraft operated
- 15× F-5S & 1× F-5T Tiger-IIs (1985 - present)
- 5× F-15SG Strike Eagles (2010 - )