12-4-2024 (SINGAPORE) Singapore’s aerial transport prowess has received a significant boost with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) declaring two new helicopter types fully operational on April 11. The Airbus Helicopters’ H225M medium-lift and Boeing’s CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopters are now equipped to carry out the complete range of missions required by the RSAF.
From troop transport and underslung load operations to search and rescue, aeromedical evacuation, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts, these modern rotorcraft are primed to enhance the Air Force’s versatility and reach.
The H225M and CH-47F will replace the aging Super Puma and CH-47D Chinook models previously operated by the RSAF, bringing improved communications, self-defence capabilities, and the ability to haul heavier payloads, according to Major Tan Guan Yong, Commanding Officer of 126 Squadron.
While 126 Squadron operates the CH-47Fs alongside the RSAF’s existing CH-47SD Chinooks, the H225Ms are flown by 125 Squadron. Both units are stationed at Sembawang Air Base, where a ceremony marking this operational milestone took place on April 11.
The RSAF’s heavy-lift helicopter unit, 127 Squadron, also operates a mixed fleet of CH-47Fs and CH-47SDs, while a training detachment at the Australian Army Aviation Training Centre in Oakey, Australia, is equipped with CH-47Fs.
During the ceremony, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen underscored the significance of this achievement in strengthening the RSAF’s ability to perform a wide array of missions, including HADR operations.
“These two new helicopter platforms enhance cross-service integration, allowing the RSAF to better support army and navy troop and equipment lifts,” Dr. Ng stated.
He also highlighted real-world missions that both helicopter types have already undertaken, noting that an H225M evacuated a crew member from an oil tanker approximately 120km off Singapore, who required urgent medical attention. This is part of the RSAF’s 24/7 search and rescue standby operations, for which the H225Ms assumed responsibility in May 2022. The first batch of H225Ms was delivered in 2021, and the RSAF has been progressively working these helicopters up to full operational capability since then.
Meanwhile, two CH-47Fs based in Oakey assisted with flood relief efforts in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales in March 2022.
The CH-47F boasts the capability to carry either 52 troops, 24 stretchers with medical support, or up to 12,700kg in underslung cargo, while the H225M can transport more than 20 personnel, 11 stretchers with medical support, or 4,750kg in underslung cargo.
Despite its more modest payload capacity, the former Commanding Officer of 125 Squadron, Lieutenant-Colonel Joe Ee Pinn Hwee, highlighted the H225M’s advantage in its smaller size – at 19.5m long, it is 10.5m shorter than the CH-47F, allowing it to land in tighter spaces.
“It’s like having a fleet of big trucks and small pickups – the intent is to serve slightly different needs and purposes, and having a separate fleet offers us the operational flexibility to do different things,” he explained.
With these new additions to its aerial transport fleet, the RSAF has fortified its ability to respond swiftly and effectively to a diverse range of missions, both at home and abroad, reinforcing Singapore’s commitment to regional security and humanitarian assistance.
