During Exercise Torrent 2016, RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force) combat planes, including for the first time Singapore’s Strike Eagles, perform “alternate runway operations” using a public road.
Taking place at Lim Chu Kang Road from Nov. 10 to 14, Ex. Torrent 2016 features the RSAF‘s aircraft conducting simultaneous launch and recovery operations from Lim Chu Kang Road and the Tengah Air Base runway.
Interestingly, among the warplanes operating from a public road, there are also F-15SGs: although Eagles of various variants have already performed alternate runway exercises before (reportedly, South Korean F-15Ks in 2008) this is the first time the Singaporean Strike Eagles took part in public road operations.
The RSAF operates a fleet of 24 examples of the hottest F-15 version to date. Based on the standard F-15E, the SG embeds few enhancements: it’s equipped with the APG-63(V)3 AESA radar, a Sniper XR EO/laser targeting pod and the AAS-43 Tiger Eyes IRST (infrared search-and-track system), the ALQ-135M system, an NVG-compatible cockpit, the JHMCS (Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System) and the ability to drop a wide array of weapons, including the AIM-9X Sidewinder, the AIM-120C AMRAAM, the AGM-154 JSOW (Joint Stand Off Weapon), the SDB (Small Diameter Bomb). Moreover, unlike the “baseline” F-15E the SG is powered by General Electric F-110-GE-129 engines.
Public road operations are, once again, becoming increasingly frequent in Europe, where Finnish Air Force F/A-18 Hornets or Belarusian Yak-130s and Su-25s regularly perform alternate runway exercises and where U.S. A-10s have also performed highway landings during a recent deployment.
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Even North Korea has performed public roads operations with its obsolete Migs in the recent past.
Top image credit: Alert 5 /Wiki
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