Changi Air Base (East), or Changi East Complex, is a facility extending the facilities of Changi Air Base, the existing facilities hence renamed Changi Air Base (West). Built on a 2 square kilometre site of reclaimed land, the new base was located approximately 2 kilometres east of

Changi Airport Singapore Changi Airport ( ; ) is the primary international airport that serves the country of Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. More than 100 airlines operate from the airport, with flights to destinations in A ...

and approximately 1.5 kilometres west of Changi Naval Base. 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 establis ...

'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 South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

to the air base gives it an advantage over Tengah Air Base and Paya Lebar Air Base 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

Air Combat Command (ACC) “Poised And Deadly” * 112 Squadron, Republic of Singapore Air Force “Determined To Deliver” ** 6

Airbus A330 MRTT The Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) is a European aerial refueling and military transport aircraft based on the civilian Airbus A330. A total of 15 countries have placed firm orders for approximately 82 aircraft, of which 64 had ...

Air Power Generation Command (APGC) “Generate And Sustain” * 208 Squadron “Reliable And Vigilant Always” * 508 Squadron "Unrivalled Support" * 608 Squadron "Vigour And Vigilance" * 708 Squadron “Agile And Dependable” * 808 Squadron “Ready And Vigilant”

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 ...

of the air base is the permanent venue of the new Changi Exhibition Centre for the Singapore Airshow which was completed in September 2007 and had hosted the recently inaugurated Singapore Airshow 2008 in February 2008. The most recent Airshow was held from 20–25 February 2024.

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 Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

's Typhoon FGR4,

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

's F/A-18A Hornets, Royal Malaysian Air Force's F/A-18D Hornets and

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

's P-3K2 Orions. Later, a gala dinner was hosted by Singapore's defence minister,

Ng Eng Hen Ng Eng Hen, Hinghwa Romanized: ''Ńg Ṳ̂ng-héng'' (born 10 December 1958) is a Singaporean former politician and oncologist who previously served as Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2025. A member of the governing People's Action Party ...

, at Singapore's Istana whereupon they called on the

Prime Minister of Singapore The prime minister of Singapore, is the head of government of Singapore. The President of Singapore, president appoints the prime minister on the advice and consent of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent prime minister is Lawrence Wong, ...

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former military officer who served as the third Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024, thereafter serving as a Senior Minister of S ...

, 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
-

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...