The 111 Squadron "Jaeger" was formed when 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 ...

acquired four

Grumman E-2C Hawkeye The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. This twin-turboprop aircraft was designed and developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s by the Grumman Aircraft ...

Airborne Early Warning An airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system is an airborne radar early warning system designed to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles and other incoming projectiles at long ranges, as well as performing command and control of t ...

aircraft in 1987. Based at

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 ...

, its primary function is to perform airborne surveillance and early warning. Other functions include Aircraft Intercept Control, Surface Surveillance,

Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

and

Air Traffic Control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

. The unit is represented by the Jaeger, a vigilant and courageous hawk-like bird whose vigilance is aptly reflected in their motto "''Vigilance in Control''".

History

Since the early 1990s, as one of the signatory members of

Five Power Defence Arrangements The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) are a series of bilateral defence relationships established by a series of multi-lateral agreements between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, all of which are Commonwe ...

(FPDA), Singapore has regularly deployed the squadron's Hawkeye to participate in the air exercise part of the Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) phase.

Overview

In 2001, RSAF working together with the

Defence Science and Technology Agency Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) is a statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of Singapore. DSTA is responsible for performing acquisitions management, systems management, systems developme ...

(DSTA) upgraded the entire computer and software systems of the E-2C. State-of-the-art equipment was adapted to the harsh military environment and millions of lines of code were rewritten. Interfaces between the various E-2C subsystems were also designed and enhanced. The RSAF acquired four

Gulfstream G550 The Gulfstream G550 is an American business jet aircraft produced by the General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace unit in Savannah, Georgia, US. The certification designation is GV-SP. A version with reduced fuel capacity was marketed as the G50 ...

jets with the IAI EL/W-2085

Active Electronically Scanned Array An active electronically scanned array (AESA) is a type of phased array antenna, which is a computer-controlled antenna array in which the beam of radio waves can be electronically steered to point in different directions without moving the a ...

(AESA) dual-band

phased array In antenna (radio), antenna theory, a phased array usually means an electronically scanned array, a computer-controlled Antenna array, array of antennas which creates a radio beam, beam of radio waves that can be electronically steered to point ...

radar (a newer derivative of the Phalcon system) for CAEW duties from

Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI; ), is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 14,000 employees as of 2021. IAI is state-owned by the government ...

(IAI) in 2007, at least 2 aircraft were delivered in late 2008 and are expected to be fully operational by 2010. Not included in the deal is an additional G550 as an AEW trainer, which will be acquired and maintained by ST Aerospace on behalf of RSAF. During the 2010

Singapore Airshow The Singapore Airshow is a biennial aerospace event held in Singapore, which 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 ...

, the squadron unveiled the new aircraft, which had been further upgraded, at the display pavilion.

Aircraft operated

#4× E-2C Hawkeyes (USN BuNos 162793/162796, RSAF serials 011/012/014/015, 1987–2010s) #4× G550 CAEW (2008–present) File:111Sqn E-2C Hawkeye.jpg, An E-2C Hawkeye (015) of 111 Sqn on display 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 ...

, 2006 File:111 Sqn G550 CAEW.JPG, An operational G550 CAEW of 111 Sqn on display at Singapore Airshow, 2010

References

External links

RSAF web page on 111 Sqn & Tengah Air Base (TAB)
;Video links * {{Singapore Armed Forces Squadrons of the Republic of Singapore Air Force Tengah