RSAF Celebrates Twenty Years of Flight Training in Pearce, Australia

RSAF Chief of Air Force, Major-General (MG) Hoo Cher Mou (3rd from left) and RAAF Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Geoff Brown (left), inspecting the parade at Pearce, Australia.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) celebrated twenty years of flight training at its flying training detachment in Pearce, Australia, this morning. To commemorate the occasion, the RSAF Chief of Air Force, Major-General (MG) Hoo Cher Mou, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal (AM) Geoff Brown, officiated the combined parade, which was also attended by local community leaders.

Speaking at the parade, MG Hoo commended the RSAF's 130 Squadron (SQN) and Standards SQN for their hard work. He said, "The uncompromising professionalism, safety culture and core values that you instil in the trainees who pass through Pearce has a direct impact on the mission success of our Air Force well into the future." MG Hoo also thanked the RAAF's support for the RSAF's training in Australia. He said, "We deeply value our friendship and training opportunities with a distinguished and professional Air Force like the RAAF. It is my hope that this friendship that we share would continue to broaden and deepen in the years to come.

"AM Brown also congratulated the RSAF for this milestone and said, "On behalf of the RAAF, I congratulate the RSAF on this milestone of the twentieth anniversary of its very successful flying training operations based at RAAF Pearce." AM Brown added, "The close relationship we have with our RSAF colleagues through this sharing of facilities and training, builds effective and successful training outcomes beneficial to both countries. We pride ourselves in the strength of our bonds with the RSAF and look forward to further advancing our joint capabilities."The RSAF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the RAAF to establish the flying training detachment at RAAF Base Pearce in March 1993. The detachment began flight training with the Aermacchi S-211 trainer aircraft, which was later replaced by the Pilatus PC-21 trainer aircraft in 2008.

The RSAF also conducts flying training at the Air Grading Centre in Tamworth, New South Wales, and has a Super Puma helicopter detachment at the Oakey Training Centre in Queensland. The RSAF and the RAAF interact regularly through exercises such as Exercise Pitch Black, visits and professional exchanges, which deepen the close and long-standing ties between the two air forces.

MG Hoo (left) interacting with personnel from RAAF at Pearce, Australia.