Chief of Air Force Officiates Opening Ceremony at RSAF Open House 2016

Chief of Air Force Brigadier-General (BG) Mervyn Tan (right) officiating at the opening ceremony of the RSAF Open House 2016 at Paya Lebar Air Base. He was accompanied by Chairman of the RSAF Open House 2016 Organising Committee, BG Neo Hong Keat.

Chief of Air Force, Brigadier-General (BG) Mervyn Tan, officiated at the opening ceremony of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Open House 2016 at Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB) this morning. Themed "Defending Our Skies", the Open House offers visitors a fun-filled and memorable experience, with opportunities to interact with the RSAF's airmen and women, and get up close and personal with its latest aircraft and weapon systems. After the opening ceremony, BG Tan interacted with members of the public and joined them in viewing the action-packed aerial display and air defence capabilities demonstration.

Sharing his thoughts on the Open House, BG Tan said, "Through this Open House, we hope to showcase the capabilities of the RSAF and to recognise our dedicated airmen and women for defending the nation's skies. We are happy to share with visitors our operational experiences, the training that we undertake and the advanced platforms that we operate. We hope that members of the public will take away fond memories of the visit, a better understanding of the RSAF and be proud of us."

The two-day event provides visitors with an interesting glimpse of the Air Force's history, development and capabilities through the RSAF Pavilion, an exhibition gallery. The RSAF personnel are on site to share their operational experiences and introduce visitors to more than 20 types of advanced aircraft and weapon systems on static display. These include the F-15SG and F-16D+ fighter aircraft, Chinook and Seahawk helicopters, Hermes 450 and Heron-1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and the Surface-to-air PYthon-5 and DERby (SPYDER) ground-based air defence systems. Other key attractions include the fighter aircraft arming demonstrations by the RSAF weapon load crew, Singapore Armed Forces Red Lions Parachute Team displays, demonstrations of the security and enforcement operations conducted by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Military Working Dog Unit, aircraft rides as well as aviation-related and carnival games.

The RSAF Open House is open to the public on 21 and 22 May, from 9:00am to 6:00pm. Admission is free. As public parking will not be available at PLAB, visitors are advised to take the free shuttle buses from Eunos Bus Interchange and Kovan Hub, public bus service 90, or taxis registered with the Land Transport Authority.