AIRFIELD, ANYWHERE
Military helicopters taking off and landing at a golf course? Find out how the RSAF turned Sembawang Country Club into a temporary outfield deployment area.//STORY BY TEDD JONG /PHOTOS BY KENNETH LIN
Setting up an airfield on the fly (literally!): That was the test presented to the men and women of the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF’s) Air Power Generation Command.
In Exercise Rover, outfield locations – such as Sembawang Country Club for this year’s edition – are converted into temporary helicopter deployment areas that can support various missions like air defence and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations.
About 600 personnel took part in the exercise, which was held from 22 to 31 May.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what went down!
The set up
Creating viable helicopter landing zones in an outfield area is no easy task.
From force protection to air traffic control to maintenance tasks like aircraft refuelling and supply reloading, there was a multitude of work done to ensure that helicopter launch and recovery operations could be carried out smoothly.
The RSAF personnel also trialled smart base technologies, including the Unmanned Ground Vehicle, to augment manned operations and provide more efficient and effective security operations.
Flying operations
Once the outfield location had been converted, helicopter aircrew swooped in to carry out drills ranging from air defence to HADR operations
