Two helicopter types have been grounded after a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Apache attack helicopter (01-2069) made a forced landing in Woodlands housing estate this afternoon.
AH-64D Apaches and S-70B Seahawk naval helicopters had their wings clipped. The choppers will stay grounded pending results of what is believed to be simultaneous engine failure on the Apache.
This is believed to be the first time Singapore's air force has grounded two helo types at the same time.
The RSAF has yet to publicise the arrival of the Seahawks. The plane spotting community believes that three such naval helos are in town, though this is just a guesstimate not based on any special info.
The loss of the Apache underscores the danger faced by the RSAF's fleet of six Seahawks, which has no spare capacity to make good attrition and provide a naval helo element for the Navy's six Formidable-class stealth frigates. Please see results of an earlier poll on this blog.
Apart from the grounding, the RSAF is believed to have suspended recruitment advertisements for the time being till news of the forced landing blows over.
Source: Ministry of Defence, Singapore
Recovery Completed for RSAF Apache AH-64 Helicopter After Emergency Landing
Posted: 30 Sep 2010, 2100 hours (Time is GMT +8 hours)
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Apache AH-64 helicopter, which made an emergency landing at an open field between Woodlands Ave 12 and Woodlands Dr 64 at about 1530hrs today, was recovered back to Sembawang Air Base at about 2000hrs this evening. As a precautionary measure, the RSAF will temporarily suspend all training for its fleet of Apache AH-64 helicopters pending the outcome of the investigation. Training for the RSAF's Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk naval helicopters, which have similar engines as the Apache AH-64 helicopters, will also be on hold.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
RSAF Apache crash: AAR
Grateful to all plane spotters for the Apache crash tipoff. Am glad that the network that alerted me on the Cessna airspace intrusion is still very much operational.
Next time, we should aim to get the news out within 30 minutes.
First with the news.
Next time, we should aim to get the news out within 30 minutes.
First with the news.
RSAF Apache crash: Official statement
Posted: 30 Sep 2010, 1715 hours (Time is GMT +8 hours)
A Republic of Singapore Air Force Apache AH-64 helicopter has made an emergency landing at the open field between Woodlands Ave 12 and Woodlands Dr 75 at about 1530hrs today. There has been no damage to civilian property or injury to personnel reported. Investigation is ongoing.
Last updated on 30 Sep 2010
Source: Ministry of Defence, Singapore
Find this article at:
http://www.mindef.gov.sg/content/imindef/news_and_events/nr/2010/sep/30sep10_nr2.html
RSAF Apache crash: Update
Likely that remaining Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Apaches will be grounded pending investigation, possibly Seahawks too as they use the same engine. A wild guess, not based on any special info.
Flash: Apache down
16:52 Hotel update: Believed to be multiple engine failure.
16:40 Hotel update: No Longbow radar.
16:35 Hotel update: Eyeballs on one AH broken tail. Police maintaining security cordon. Pilots are alright.
16:22 Hotel update: Initial reports from plane spotters indicate that a Republic of Singapore Air Force Apache attack helicopter went down around Woodlands Avenue 12 around 15:30 Hotel.
Media incident vehicle observed moving to the area.
Will amplify or remove this post as information is collated.
Many thanks to the Milnuts network for this report.
16:40 Hotel update: No Longbow radar.
16:35 Hotel update: Eyeballs on one AH broken tail. Police maintaining security cordon. Pilots are alright.
16:22 Hotel update: Initial reports from plane spotters indicate that a Republic of Singapore Air Force Apache attack helicopter went down around Woodlands Avenue 12 around 15:30 Hotel.
Media incident vehicle observed moving to the area.
Will amplify or remove this post as information is collated.
Many thanks to the Milnuts network for this report.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
BMT Graduation Parade: March order
Invitations have gone out, the show venue is booked and there’s no turning back on the Basic Military Training (BMT) Graduation Parade this Saturday.
As preparations shift into high gear, planners are aware that this high-profile event staged with a postcard view of Singapore’s city skyline can earn the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) heaps of positive publicity – or it could swing sentiments the other way.
Officers and men from the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) who think the 24-km route march to the parade venue is all but routine must snap out of this mindset before their recruits march off.
Spectators won’t just crowd the 26,000 seat floating platform at Marina Bay. They will be found all along the marching route and not everyone may react positively to seeing 3,200 recruits marching in close order, chanting for all the world like some Tolkien army off to battle.
If the recruits sing – as they normally do on Tekong – with a full-throated gusto loud enough to wake the dead, would sensitive, sleep-deprived civilians complain to the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) as fast as their fingers can punch out their missive on a BlackBerry?
And what songs should BMTC instructors choose from their selection of marching tunes? Army ditties bordering on crass vulgarity or those laced with dark humour about the military life? Some Army songs are best sung out of earshot of civilians and this will be hard to police unless the enthusiasm of song leaders is reined in way before the march.
No route march is complete without song, so the dilemma BMTC instructors may face is how to manage public reaction to a route march of this magnitude.
Toilet stops in Singapore’s urban landscape will also pose a challenge. With 3,200 recruits on the march for some six hours, all that water parade fluid will have to come out some time or other. These recruits can’t turn the streets into an open sewer, as they normally do while outfield on Tekong. Will there be enough portaloos? Will the queue lines stretch a mile long at rest stops, throwing the no-rehearsal route march out of sync and delaying the parade?
Is there a security plan?
One hopes the recruits parade under a dry sky too because there’s no shelter at The Float – the terraced spectator platform at Marina Bay – unlike the spectator gallery normally used for BMTC parades.
As the clock ticks towards H Hour, the parade will demand many last minute preparations from BMTC personnel.
And should unknown unknowns crop up which threaten to unhinge well-laid plans, the SAF will look to the individual soldier's initiative and effectiveness of small unit leadership to bring things on an even keel.
As preparations shift into high gear, planners are aware that this high-profile event staged with a postcard view of Singapore’s city skyline can earn the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) heaps of positive publicity – or it could swing sentiments the other way.
Officers and men from the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) who think the 24-km route march to the parade venue is all but routine must snap out of this mindset before their recruits march off.
Spectators won’t just crowd the 26,000 seat floating platform at Marina Bay. They will be found all along the marching route and not everyone may react positively to seeing 3,200 recruits marching in close order, chanting for all the world like some Tolkien army off to battle.
If the recruits sing – as they normally do on Tekong – with a full-throated gusto loud enough to wake the dead, would sensitive, sleep-deprived civilians complain to the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) as fast as their fingers can punch out their missive on a BlackBerry?
And what songs should BMTC instructors choose from their selection of marching tunes? Army ditties bordering on crass vulgarity or those laced with dark humour about the military life? Some Army songs are best sung out of earshot of civilians and this will be hard to police unless the enthusiasm of song leaders is reined in way before the march.
No route march is complete without song, so the dilemma BMTC instructors may face is how to manage public reaction to a route march of this magnitude.
Toilet stops in Singapore’s urban landscape will also pose a challenge. With 3,200 recruits on the march for some six hours, all that water parade fluid will have to come out some time or other. These recruits can’t turn the streets into an open sewer, as they normally do while outfield on Tekong. Will there be enough portaloos? Will the queue lines stretch a mile long at rest stops, throwing the no-rehearsal route march out of sync and delaying the parade?
Is there a security plan?
One hopes the recruits parade under a dry sky too because there’s no shelter at The Float – the terraced spectator platform at Marina Bay – unlike the spectator gallery normally used for BMTC parades.
As the clock ticks towards H Hour, the parade will demand many last minute preparations from BMTC personnel.
And should unknown unknowns crop up which threaten to unhinge well-laid plans, the SAF will look to the individual soldier's initiative and effectiveness of small unit leadership to bring things on an even keel.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Scene setter: BMT Graduation Parade
This weekend, Singapore’s newest soldiers will have their mettle tested in a 24-km route march to the heart of the Lion City.
The march distance is no impediment to the Singapore Army - its combat and combat service support formations routinely train to deploy and fight over long distances.
The fact that some 3,200 Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) recruits will execute a brigade-plus movement to Singapore’s city centre is the challenge.
These recruits will do what no Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) unit has done before. Indeed, the last time armed soldiers moved towards Singapore city on foot and in such numbers was probably during the Japanese Occupation in February 1942.
This time round, every Singaporean son will find a more enthusiastic reception as parents, friends and well-wishers gather for the combined BMTC passing out parade and photograph the landmark occasion in a flurry of camera flashes.
As BMTC troop columns weave their way from Changi Point, at the easternmost tip of Singapore island, to Marina Bay, everything they do will be open to public scrutiny. It takes a leap of faith for BMTC instructors to trust their recruits will do what’s right and demonstrate a level of competence, discipline and professionalism that the SAF expects from its warfighters.
For example, whether the recruits show proper noise discipline at their rest stops or cackle like chickens on a poultry farm will show, to some extent, if they’ve made the jump from excited school kids on an excursion to soldiers who know how to behave during a rest stop.
Complicating the troop movement is the fact that there’s no rehearsal for this route march. Previous generations of recruits performed their route marches on Pulau Tekong island, a training ground sterilised of nosey civilians and well-familiar to BMTC instructors.
To get to the graduation parade, BMTC recruits and instructors will have to organise themselves into four waves of troops, in the correct march order, in the right platoon and company sequence, through housing estates and major highways, with the right amount of medical and logistics support along the way.
And they can’t all take their time.
The passing out parade kicks off on Saturday and the 24-km distance will have to be accomplished well before showtime.
Every recruit who takes part in the route march will be there by choice. How many recruits will be present at the roll call before the march off is open to question.
Those who want to shirk this physical trial and decline the opportunity to prove they are up to the challenge will have ample opportunity to drop out. An imagined ailment, an exaggerated pain, a cooked-up excuse at the BMTC Medical Centre is all it takes for them to step out of line.
The recruit who dreams up creative excuses to chicken out will probably be the same sort of character who goes through life blaming all his misfortunes on society, on fate or circumstance, even on family and friends, without once taking responsibility for his actions.
Recruits who drop out will cement the image that polytechnic students are made of softer stuff than junior college students. This image has been stoked by newspaper reports that link the lack of physical education classes in polytechnics to supposedly poor fitness scores among poly students.
This batch of BMTC recruits is the best judge whether that impression is true or misguided.
At the other end of the spectrum, BMTC instructors must be able to spot recruits with a misplaced gung-ho spirit who want to join the route march even though their personal health does not match their sense of adventure.
Training casualties can be prevented with the right safety first mindset by all BMTC personnel.
On Friday night, as BMTC instructors perform their roll call, under-strength platoons, depleted companies and swollen ranks of the sick parade will make the most vocal statement that three months of Basic Military Training have done nothing for these recruits. BMTC recruits will have to decide for themselves whether or not this scene will materialise.
It is up to BMTC recruits to show that this batch of warfighters-to-be is made of sterner stuff.
Many operational SAF units will be watching how BMTC runs its show.
The SAF has entrusted BMTC - in short, every recruit - to carry out the first ever route march to the city.
Come Friday night, BMTC recruits will get the chance to show they can indeed excel through basics. Urra!
Note: Senang Diri is grateful for the upcoming opportunity to watch BMTC recruits in action as the route march unfolds later this week.
The march distance is no impediment to the Singapore Army - its combat and combat service support formations routinely train to deploy and fight over long distances.
The fact that some 3,200 Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) recruits will execute a brigade-plus movement to Singapore’s city centre is the challenge.
These recruits will do what no Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) unit has done before. Indeed, the last time armed soldiers moved towards Singapore city on foot and in such numbers was probably during the Japanese Occupation in February 1942.
This time round, every Singaporean son will find a more enthusiastic reception as parents, friends and well-wishers gather for the combined BMTC passing out parade and photograph the landmark occasion in a flurry of camera flashes.
As BMTC troop columns weave their way from Changi Point, at the easternmost tip of Singapore island, to Marina Bay, everything they do will be open to public scrutiny. It takes a leap of faith for BMTC instructors to trust their recruits will do what’s right and demonstrate a level of competence, discipline and professionalism that the SAF expects from its warfighters.
For example, whether the recruits show proper noise discipline at their rest stops or cackle like chickens on a poultry farm will show, to some extent, if they’ve made the jump from excited school kids on an excursion to soldiers who know how to behave during a rest stop.
Complicating the troop movement is the fact that there’s no rehearsal for this route march. Previous generations of recruits performed their route marches on Pulau Tekong island, a training ground sterilised of nosey civilians and well-familiar to BMTC instructors.
To get to the graduation parade, BMTC recruits and instructors will have to organise themselves into four waves of troops, in the correct march order, in the right platoon and company sequence, through housing estates and major highways, with the right amount of medical and logistics support along the way.
And they can’t all take their time.
The passing out parade kicks off on Saturday and the 24-km distance will have to be accomplished well before showtime.
Every recruit who takes part in the route march will be there by choice. How many recruits will be present at the roll call before the march off is open to question.
Those who want to shirk this physical trial and decline the opportunity to prove they are up to the challenge will have ample opportunity to drop out. An imagined ailment, an exaggerated pain, a cooked-up excuse at the BMTC Medical Centre is all it takes for them to step out of line.
The recruit who dreams up creative excuses to chicken out will probably be the same sort of character who goes through life blaming all his misfortunes on society, on fate or circumstance, even on family and friends, without once taking responsibility for his actions.
Recruits who drop out will cement the image that polytechnic students are made of softer stuff than junior college students. This image has been stoked by newspaper reports that link the lack of physical education classes in polytechnics to supposedly poor fitness scores among poly students.
This batch of BMTC recruits is the best judge whether that impression is true or misguided.
At the other end of the spectrum, BMTC instructors must be able to spot recruits with a misplaced gung-ho spirit who want to join the route march even though their personal health does not match their sense of adventure.
Training casualties can be prevented with the right safety first mindset by all BMTC personnel.
On Friday night, as BMTC instructors perform their roll call, under-strength platoons, depleted companies and swollen ranks of the sick parade will make the most vocal statement that three months of Basic Military Training have done nothing for these recruits. BMTC recruits will have to decide for themselves whether or not this scene will materialise.
It is up to BMTC recruits to show that this batch of warfighters-to-be is made of sterner stuff.
Many operational SAF units will be watching how BMTC runs its show.
The SAF has entrusted BMTC - in short, every recruit - to carry out the first ever route march to the city.
Come Friday night, BMTC recruits will get the chance to show they can indeed excel through basics. Urra!
Note: Senang Diri is grateful for the upcoming opportunity to watch BMTC recruits in action as the route march unfolds later this week.
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