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Special Operations Force | |
---|---|
Active | 1984 – present |
Country | Singapore |
Branch | Singapore Army |
Type | Special forces |
Role | |
Part of | Commandos Special Operations Task Force |
Engagements | Operation Thunderbolt |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Colonel Lam Shiu Tong [1] Colonel Chiang Hock Woon [2] |
The Special Operations Force (SOF) [3] is the primary special forces unit of the Singapore Army responsible for conducting special operations. The SOF is only composed of highly trained regular servicemen, most of whom are from the Commandos formation. [4]
It is also a component of the Special Operations Task Force (SOTF), alongside the Special Warfare Group (SWG) of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). [5]
On 27 September 1972, a flight engineer aboard Olympic Airlines Flight 472 accidentally activated a hijack alarm. The flight, which had 31 passengers and 11 crew members on board, took off from Sydney, Australia at 1030 hours SST and was heading towards Paya Lebar Airport in Singapore. The Australian authorities were not informed of the situation until four hours later. Following a flurry of conflicting reports, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority warned Paya Lebar Airport to be prepared for a possible hijack.
Flight 472 landed in Singapore at 1825 hours SST and was immediately surrounded by the police before the Singapore authorities could confirm that it was a false alarm. The incident highlighted the lack of special forces trained and equipped to deal with a hijack or hostage situation in Singapore.
The SOF was created in 1984. [6]
On 26 March 1991, Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was hijacked in flight by four men, who took all 129 people on board hostage. At Singapore Changi Airport, commandos from the SOF stormed the plane, killed the four hijackers and freed the hostages in under a minute. [7] This also marked the SOF's first combat operation. [7]
Commando HQ was awarded a Medal of Valor and a unit citation for the success of the operation. [3]
It was reported that some SOF commandos have been deployed to Afghanistan under Operation Blue Ridge alongside regular Commandos. [4]
The Entebbe raid or Operation Entebbe, officially codenamed Operation Thunderbolt, was a 1976 Israeli counter-terrorist mission in Uganda. It was launched in response to the hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight operated by Air France between the cities of Tel Aviv and Paris. During a stopover in Athens, the aircraft was hijacked by two Palestinian PFLP–EO and two German RZ members, who diverted the flight to Libya and then to Uganda, where they landed at Entebbe International Airport to be joined by other terrorists. Once in Uganda, the group enjoyed support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on 24 December 1994 by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers. The militants murdered three passengers and their intention was either to detonate the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower or the Tour Montparnasse in Paris. When the aircraft reached Marseille, the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), a tier one counterterrorism and hostage rescue unit of the French National Gendarmerie, stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers.
A sky marshal is a covert law enforcement or counter-terrorist agent on board a commercial aircraft to counter aircraft hijackings. Such an agent is also known as an air marshal, a flight marshal, or an in-flight security officer (IFSO). Sky marshals may be provided by airlines such as El Al, or by government agencies such as the Austrian Einsatzkommando Cobra, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, German Federal Police, National Security Guard in India, Metropolitan Police MO19 from London, Pakistan Airports Security Force, or US Federal Air Marshal Service.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1977.
The Paya Lebar Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) in Singapore located at Airport Road in Paya Lebar, in the eastern region of Singapore. The airbase goes by the motto of Strength Through Readiness.
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the armed forces have four service branches: the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Digital and Intelligence Service. An integrated force, it is one of the most capable, robust, technologically sophisticated and powerful militaries in the Southeast Asia region. The SAF is headed by the chief of defence force, appointed by the President, on the advice of the Cabinet.
Commandos is the special forces formation of the Singapore Army responsible for conducting special operations. Commandos are tasked with infiltrating behind enemy lines by raiding and reconnaissance operations using airborne raids, helicopter assault and sea landings. The formation is made up of only one battalion, the 1st Commando Battalion, and is based in Hendon Camp.
Changi Air Base (East), or Changi East Complex, is a facility extending the facilities of Changi Air Base, the existing facilities hence renamed Changi Air Base (West). Built on a 2 square kilometre site of reclaimed land, the new base was located approximately 2 kilometres east of Changi Airport and approximately 1.5 kilometres west of Changi Naval Base. Groundbreaking took place on 15 July 2002 and it was officially opened on 29 November 2004. A new runway (02R/20L) was built and the length was approximately 2,748 metres (9,015 ft), it has since been lengthened to 4,000 metres.
The Delta Force is a 1986 American action film starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin as leaders of an elite group of Special Operations Forces personnel based on the real life U.S. Army Delta Force unit. Directed, co-written and co-produced by Menahem Golan, the film features Martin Balsam, Joey Bishop, Robert Vaughn, Steve James, Robert Forster, Shelley Winters and George Kennedy. It is the first installment in The Delta Force film series. Two sequels were produced, entitled Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection and the direct-to-video Delta Force 3: The Killing Game. The Delta Force was "inspired" by the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.
The Laju incident, also known as the Laju ferry hijacking, occurred on 31 January 1974 in Singapore. Four armed men from the terrorist groups Japanese Red Army and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine attacked the Shell oil refinery complex on Pulau Bukom and later hijacked the ferryboat Laju and took its five crew members hostage. The crisis was resolved after the Singapore government provided the terrorists safe passage to the Middle East in exchange for the release of the hostages.
The Special Warfare Group (SWG) is the primary special forces unit of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) responsible for conducting special operations from sea, air, and land. It is one of six squadrons of the Naval Diving Unit (NDU).
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command is a command of the Canadian Armed Forces. It is responsible for all special forces operations that respond to terrorism and threats to Canadians and Canadian interests around the world.
The 497th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to Pacific Air Forces to activate or inactivate as needed.
Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was a Singapore Airlines flight that was hijacked en route by four Pakistani terrorists on 26 March 1991.
Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206 was a Garuda Indonesia flight that was hijacked on 28 March 1981, by the Komando Jihad in Indonesia. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 plane PK-GNJ was hijacked on a domestic flight and forced to land at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. The hijackers demanded the release of their confederates from Indonesian jails and issued other demands. Three days later, the aircraft was stormed by Indonesian special forces. In the ensuing operation, all five hijackers were killed, while the pilot and one Kopassus operative were fatally wounded. All passengers were rescued.
The 149 Squadron "Shikra" of the Republic of Singapore Air Force is a fighter-bomber squadron based at Paya Lebar Air Base. The squadron goes by the motto "Steadfast" with the Shikra adopted as its mascot.
The Special Operations Task Force is a special operations command of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for conducting special operations. The SOTF is composed of only highly-trained regular servicemen from the Army's Special Operations Force (SOF) under the Commandos formation and, the Navy's Special Warfare Group (SWG) under the Naval Diving Unit (NDU).
Singapore Changi Airport, or simply Changi Airport, is the primary civilian airport in the Republic of Singapore, and one of the largest transportation hubs in Southeast Asia. It is located approximately 17.2 km (10.7 mi) northeast from the commercial centre in Changi, on a 13 square kilometres (5.0 sq mi) site.
The 142 Squadron "Gryphon" of the Republic of Singapore Air Force is a fighter-bomber squadron based at Paya Lebar Air Base, the squadron goes by the motto "Honour and Glory" with the Gryphon adopted as its mascot. According to IHS Janes, it is the second Singapore-based F-15SG Squadron.