[ Media Invite ]
I was at Lim Chu Kang road (next to Tengah Air Base TAB) to witness RSAF prepare for Exercise Torrent 2016. Airplane enthusiasts would not miss Exercise Torrent, it is way better than any RSAF (Republic Singapore Air Force) open house.
(The actual launching for F15s and F16s are documented here)
You will never get any nearer to the LOUD jets taking off a few lanes away from you!
Check out the Hawkeye E2C unfolding its wings like Transformers in this video clip and road preparation here. I hesitated to bring my kids along as I thought they might find the repetitive landings and take-offs boring after a while :p
Before the birds F16 and F15 can take off from Lim Chu Kang Road (LCK), there are a lot of activities to accomplish 48 hours beforehand.
How many contractors are needed to clear the road signs?
How many people do we need to dismantle a Bus Stop?
Can you guess the amount of Railings along Lim Chu Kang road?
Many lamp posts were taken down.
Now multiply the amount of efforts above along 2.5km. Personnel had to dismantle 153 LAMP POSTS, 14 TRAFFIC JUNCTIONS, 12 BUS STOPS, 58 ROAD SIGNS AND 1.2KM OF GUARD RAILS! (This is crazy!)
(Image credit RSAF)
Our contractors must be amused at the level of attention which they are drawing. We took so many photos and videos of them hard at work π
Food for thought, are we going to rely on our foreign contractors during period of tension?
All these dismantling involved a lot of manual labour, which is time consuming and not productive at all.
Perhaps DSTA (Defence Science) can improvised some effective ways to quickly dismantle the infrastructure along Lim Chu Kang road (example, you press one button and all surface infrastructure will automatically fold down)
We heard one speed camera was removed too, otherwise the camera will keep on flashing at the Speeding Birds :p
Torrent 2008 was the 6th exercise, we had waited 8 years for you π
Video (link) : It took RSAF and partners 48 hours to transform Lim Chu Kang road for Exercise Torrent 2016
Multiple agencies are also involved in Exercise Torrent. Just to name a few, Nparks (Pruning of plants), AVA (the farms around Lim Chu Kang), LTA (Road infrastructures dismantling), Singapore Police (Road diversion), National Environment Agency (pest and perhaps mosquito control).
Other equipment and assets deployed during Exercise Torrent.
Mobile Air Traffic Control (MATC) tower, this cabin might be the best spot to view all the activities! (got aircon too)
Did you know that Singapore also deployed MATCs in Banda Aceh after Boxing Day Tsunami?
Mobile Arrestor Gear (MAG) will stop all planes! The steel hookwire is deployed across the road attached to two MAG (each weighing 8 tonnes). Unlike Aircraft carriers, which must stop all planes on the short platform, MAG is only used during emergencies.
Be prepared to watch MAG in action again a F16, a first for Exercise Torrent!
Picture below, clockwise from top left:
– FOD Killer in action (FOD stands for Foreign Object damage). This road sweeper can suck up magnetic (screws nuts etc) which might damage the fighter jets
– Second and third pic – Solar powered Airfield lights to demarcate the runway (These are not your usual camping lights from Decathlon)
– PAPI ( Precision Approach Path Indicator) – Pilots use them to guide landing angle (4 White too high, 4 Red too low), must aim for 2 White and 2 Red.
We must not forget the Force Protection team, who will ensure that exercise will run smoothly and mitigate any security incidence which might occur. I understand some of them are reservists and will be sacrificing their weekends with the Air Force family.
2.8km of concertina wires were laid to fence off the temporary runway, I hate these “metal barbs”!
This weekend, Lim Chu Kang will be closed to the public until Sunday 2pm (Map and details link)
Some other interesting sights.
No chickens are running away today, we also heard the fowls were stressed from the jets afterburners (previous Torrents) and eggs production were affected :p
Since the last Torrent, Skyhawks and Hawkeyes had been retired (and F5 with their parachutes semi-retired?), I am wondering whether Gulfstream will make a guest appearance?
The stage is set. I hoped media group can stand next to the drain for maximum adrenaline π
During Torrent 2016 (7th edition), 12 fighter jets will be roaring across Lim Chu Kang (F15 and F16).
I cannot wait for the weekend to come. Exercise Torrent 2016 is going to Rock Lim Chu Kang!
More photos have been uploaded on our Facebook.
For the latest updates, do follow RSAF on their Facebook, and Twitter and Instagram on @TheRSAF handler.
ps..
Go and ask the kids why Singapore need extra Lim Chu Kang runway?
(If you Google, you will know the number of runways at TAB)
*update* 2016 13 Nov – Post 2 on actual F15 and F16 landing along Lim Chu Kang, read here