 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Tengah Air Base" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Tengah Air Base Pangkalan Udara Tengah 登加空軍基地 தெங்கா வான்படைத் தளம் | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the Tengah Air Base | |
| Summary | |
| Airport type | Military airbase |
| Owner | Government of Singapore |
| Operator | Republic of Singapore Air Force |
| Location | Western Water Catchment,Singapore |
| Elevation AMSL | 15 m / 50 ft |
| Coordinates | 01°23′14″N103°42′31″E / 1.38722°N 103.70861°E /1.38722; 103.70861 |
 | |
TheTengah Air Base (IATA:TGA,ICAO:WSAT) is amilitary airbase of theRepublic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) located in theWestern Water Catchment, in the western part ofSingapore.
The air base is the most important airfield of the RSAF as it houses the majority of the RSAF's fixed-wing frontline squadrons, home to all of RSAF'sAirborne early warning and control (AEWC) assets, most of theF-16C/D Fighting Falcons and manyUAVs.
The airfield goes by the motto ofAlways Vigilant, which is supported by its main motif, ablack knight chess piece symbolising the aircraft's operational readiness in Tengah. The sword represents war's heraldic sword of destruction, while the state is depicted by the castle.
Prior to Singapore's independence, it was aflyingRoyal Air Force station known asRAF Tengah.
RAF Tengah was opened in 1939. Tengah airfield was the target ofcarpet bombing when 17Japanese Navy bombers conducted thefirst air raid on Singapore, shortly after theBattle of Malaya began.
In a 1990 memoir,[1] former Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot Terence O'Brien described leading (in late December 1941) a flight ofLockheed Hudsons from Britain to Singapore, which was already under attack by the time he and his aircrews arrived at Tengah. He noted that only eight "of us out of the twenty who set off" from Britain for Singapore survived the Far East campaign. Tengah had already been under air attack by the Japanese, but he said it was easy to imagine the once elegant, but now badly damaged, officers' mess just a few weeks before their arrival. He said it:
. . . stood proud on a grassy slope to the south of the field, from the terrace you looked over the lush green grass, then a smooth-topped expanse of rubber plantation stretched away to misty blue hills . . . You could picture officers and guests out there on mess nights chatting under the Southern Cross . . . the strains of a waltz coming from the dance band in the spacious lounge brilliantly lit and aswirl in colour. Now, a month later and into war, all that was gone forever. Many of the windows were now empty of glass, so the rain came misting through in the frequent tropical showers . . . There was no longer any door at all on the room allotted to Peter and me . . .
Not long after their arrival, O'Brien and his Hudsons departed Singapore just ahead of the conquering Japanese.
Tengah was the first airfield to be captured when Japanese forcesinvaded Singapore. After the Japanese completed their capture of Singapore,Tengah came under the control of theImperial Japanese Army Air Force while theImperial Japanese Navy Air Service took over the other two RAF stations ofSembawang Air Base andRAF Seletar as Singapore was split into north–south sphere of control. This effectively ensured that the Japanese Army took control of the south, including the administrative hub and population centre of Singapore City, while the Japanese Navy took command of the north, which included theRoyal Navy dockyard atSembawang.
The base was home to 11, 17, 20, 28, 32, 33, 34, 39, 45, 60, 62, 64, 74, 81, 84, 103, 136, 152, 155, 204, 242 & 258 RAF squadrons during its lifetime.[2]
During theMalayan Emergency, Tengah was used to houseAvro Lincolns of the RAF andRoyal Australian Air Force andBristol Brigands ofNo. 84 Squadron RAF which performed bombing sorties against pro-independence forces led by theMalayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), led by theMalayan Communist Party (MCP) deep in the jungles ofPeninsular Malaysia. In 195245 Squadron was equipped withde Havilland Hornets and re-equipped withVenoms in 1955 at RAF Butterworth when it was amalgamated with33 Squadron T.11's of60 Squadron, joined by14 Squadron of theRoyal New Zealand Air Force. In 1958 they were joined by 45 Squadron andNo. 75 Squadron RNZAF, both equipped withEnglish Electric Canberra B.2. The RAAF retained their Lincolns, with1 Squadron, until the end of the emergency.
During the period ofIndonesia–Malaysia confrontation,20 Squadron with itsHawker Hunter fighter aircraft in addition to theGloster Javelins of 60 Squadron and64 Squadron, were based on the airfield to help upgrade the air defence of Singapore andPeninsula Malaysia against infrequent air incursions from theMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s andNorth American P-51 Mustangs of theIndonesian Air Force.[citation needed]74 SquadronEnglish Electric Lightnings were deployed following Confrontation to replace the Javelins of 64 Squadron.
On 3 September 1964, an Indonesian Air ForceLockheed C-130 Hercules crashed into theStraits of Malacca whiletrying to evade interception by a Javelin FAW.9 of No 60 Squadron.[3] On 30 April 1968, the Gloster Javelins of No 60 Squadron flew their last RAF operational sorties fromTengah and the squadron was disbanded the same day.[4]
As a show of force to deter the Indonesian PresidentSukarno from launching an all-out war during this period, the RAF also deployed aV bomber force detachment to Tengah in the form ofHandley Page Victor B.1A bombers from15 Squadron in August 1963, which was rotated with those dispersed toRAAF Butterworth in Malaysia. The detachment of Victor bombers was replaced in October 1964 by a detachment ofAvro Vulcan B.2 bombers from12 Squadron, these were subsequently pulled back toRAF Cottesmore in December that same year. In August 1965,9 Squadron resumed RAF's Vulcan bomber detachment to Tengah, followed by35 Squadron in December 1965, these were in turn replaced by 9 Squadron again in February 1966. After June 1966, 9 Squadron returned to Cottesmore following the end of the confrontation.
According to BritishMoD documents declassified in 2000, up to 48Red Beard tactical nuclear weapons were secretly stowed in a highly secured weapons storage facility at Tengah, between 1962 and 1970, for possible use by the V bomber force detachment and 45 Sqn Canberras for Britain's military commitment toSouth East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).[5][6]
The RAF stationclosed at the end of March 1971 and Tengah was handed over to the Singapore Air Defence Command (later the Republic of Singapore Air Force) by 1973, after the British Withdrawal following the defence cuts. Despite this, the airfield continued to host British andCommonwealth air forces and troops under the auspices of theFive Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) until 1976. The RAAF pulled out of Tengah in 1983.
It was renamed RSAF Tengah in 1971 (then it becameTengah Air Base (TAB)), when it was handed over to the Singapore Air Defence Command (SADC). Currently, the air base houses aircraft such as theLockheed MartinF-16C/D Fighting Falcons.
RSAF50 parade took place on 1 September 2018 at TAB. The parade featured almost 500 personnel in a march-past, mobile column and a Salute-to-the-Nation flypast involving 20 aircraft. The newMulti-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft made its maiden public appearance. The static display also showcased both retired and present aircraft.[7][8][9]
On 8 May 2024, an F-16 crashed shortly after takeoff, the pilot ejected with minor injuries.[10]
On 8 Jun 2025, the adjacent Lim Chu Kang Road was closed for the base expansion.
The Flying Squadrons based in Tengah Air Base are:[11]
The Flying Squadrons based in Tengah Air Base are:[12]
The Support Squadrons based in Tengah Air Base are:[13]
The RSAF regularly conducts Exercise Torrent which converts the neighboring Lim Chu Kang road into analternative runway since its inception in April 1986.[14] Its purpose is to demonstrate the RSAF capability of generating air power in the shortest time from public roads.[15] The seventh and last edition was held from the 10 to 13 November 2016.[16]
To accommodate the relocation of all RSAF assets and equipment fromPaya Lebar Air Base, Tengah Air Base will be expanded by acquiring 50,000 graves in theChoa Chu Kang Cemetery and 80 neighbouring farms/agricultural businesses. Military training areas will be rationalised, such as the closure ofMurai Urban Training Facility.[17][18] A new runway will be built on the expanded portion of the base. On the 8 June 2025, the new Lim Chu Kang Road will open.[19]
| Current bases includingbare bases |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Former bases |
| |
| Overseas bases | ||
| Shared bases | ||
| Flying boat bases | ||
| Other facilities | ||
