Everything about A-4su Super Skyhawk totally explained
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The
Singapore Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawk is a major upgrade of the
A-4S Skyhawk attack aircraft developed for and was used exclusively by the
Republic of Singapore Air Force.
Design and development
A-4S & TA-4S
Starting in
1973, the
Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) began to acquire
A-4 Skyhawks for use. The first batch of over 50 airframes (ex-
US Navy A-4Bs & TA-4Bs) was ordered and was subsequently requisitioned from the
Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC) at
Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona which was released to the
Lockheed Aircraft Service (LAS) Company at
Ontario, California and its subsidiary Lockheed Aircraft Service Singapore (LASS) at
Seletar Airfield, Singapore for a major overhaul and refurbishment.
These aircraft would later emerged as the A-4S single-seater (44 airframes) and the TA-4S two-seat trainer (3 airframes), all having more than 100 changes incorporated (these included a slightly longer nose to house a new avionics package, five stores
hardpoints instead of the usual three, a saddle style
Automatic Direction Finder dorsal hump,
cockpit armour plating,
spoilers,
cranked
refueling probe,
AIM-9 Sidewinder capability,
brake parachute housing below the jetpipe and 30 mm
ADEN cannons in place of the original
Colt Mk 12 20 mm cannons) into the standard A-4B airframes. A later order of 4 two-seat trainer airframes was placed in
1976, and these joined the RSAF in
1977.
The TA-4S trainers were not the standard TA-4 with a common cockpit for the student and instructor pilot, but were instead rebuilt with a 28-inch fuselage plug inserted into the front fuselage and a separate bulged cockpit (giving better all round visibility) for the instructor seated behind the student pilot.
In
1974, the RSAF received enough refurbished A-4S to form the
142 Sqn and
143 Sqn, which were based at
Tengah Air Base and
Changi Air Base, respectively. In RSAF service, the
A-4S/TA-4S were given 3-digit serial starting with 6 (Eg. 600, 651).
A-4S-1 & TA-4S-1
A second batch of 70 airframes was ordered (mix of ex-US Navy A-4Bs and A-4Cs) in
1980, these were shipped directly to Singapore for rebuilding with the A-4Cs being rebuilt as the A-4S-1s while the A-4Bs was to remained in storage for use as spares. Along with a small number of TA4S-1s, these newer Skyhawks (characterised by its straight refueling probe instead of the cranked refueling probe found on the original
A-4S/TA-4S) would join the RSAF as attrition replacements from
1982 onwards with the balance being allocated in
1984 to form a new unit -
145 Sqn which was also based at
Tengah Air Base.
In
1983, a third order of 16 stored TA-4Bs from the
Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (boneyard) would see it being converted and rebuilt as the TA-4S-1 trainers (8 airframes). In RSAF service, the
A-4S-1/TA-4S-1 were given 3-digit serial starting with 9 (eg. 918, 950). All in all, approximately 150 airframes (all A-4Bs and Cs) were acquired by Singapore.
A-4SU & TA-4SU Super Skyhawk
In
1985, as a result of four A-4S being written off in separate accidents, coupled with the low serviceability of the original batch of A-4S. Investigations conducted by RSAF reveal that the
Wright J65 turbojet engines in use by the Skyhawks were too old and it was this very reason that the RSAF decided to upgrade the
A-4S/TA-4S rather than to replace them.
With
Singapore Aerospace contracted as the main contractor for the upgrading project and a non-afterburning
General Electric F404-GE-100D turbofan engine selected as the new engine, the upgrading project would later be extended to cover the entire fleet of newer
A-4S-1s as well as taking the opportunity to completely modernise the avionics package (newly installed equipment now included a laser seeker mounted in the nose,
Inertial navigation system (INS),
Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) system, fore & aft
Radar warning receivers (RWR) and
chaff/
flare countermeasures which were mostly of Israeli origins) of the aircraft which had been in use since the late 1950s, note that these are ex-US Navy airframes.
The modernized A-4SU and TA-4SU versions with its new F404 turbofan engine had 29% more thrust, which resulted in a 30% reduction in takeoff time as well as an increase in usable payload, range and maximum speed. The maximum speed now at sea level is 610 knots (1130 km/h), and maximum cruise speed at 30,000 ft (10,000 m) is 446 knots (826 km/h).
Thus modernised, the new A-4SU Super Skyhawks began rolling out to re-equip the
145 Sqn first, followed by
143 Sqn and
142 Sqn of the RSAF from
1989 onwards. The type was also utilised by the
RSAF Black Knights aerobatic display team for precision aerial manoeuvers from
1990 to
2000.
End of front-line service
After 31 years of operations, the RSAF officially withdrew its fleet of A-4SU Super Skyhawks from operational combat service in Singapore on
31 March 2005. The A-4SU's achievements included flying directly from Singapore to the Philippines, incorporating the RSAF's first air-to-air refuelling mission in 1986, as well as the aerobatic display of the 'red and white' Super Skyhawks flown by the
RSAF Black Knights during Asian Aerospace 1990. A month before its retirement, the Skyhawk squadron (145 Sqn) won the top honours in a strike exercise against its more modern F-16 and F-5 counterparts and emerged as the Top combat squadron in the
Singapore Armed Forces Best Unit Competition, an honour it has held since year
2000.
In 1998, the
French government offered the use of facilities at
Cazaux AB in the south of France. A 25-year lease for basing rights of 18 A-4SU aircraft and approximately 250 RSAF personnel and their families was signed later that year. Back in Singapore, 142 Sqn was disbanded in 1997, and its aircraft were handed over to
150 Sqn, which had given up its
SIAI Marchetti SF.260 basic trainers. The new squadron then took up the role of advanced jet training, using its aircraft as a lead-in fighter trainer for RSAF pilots. This made it the prime candidate for moving to France, and the first of 18 aircraft were "packed" and sent to France by ship in mid-1999 as part of the RSAF's Advanced Jet Training Program. The four remaining aircraft are scheduled to retire in 2007. Subsequently,
Ngee Ann Polytechnic,
Temasek Polytechnic and
Nanyang Technological University would each receive a A-4SU Skyhawk as well.
Also, two of the retired A4-SU Super Skyhawks was donated to the French Aeronautics Museum (Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace) for static display. A Certificate of Transfer and Acceptance signing ceremony took place between representatives of the RSAF and the French Aeronautics Museum at Cazaux Air Base in France on
12 Jan 2006.
Variants
A-4SU Super Skyhawk » Upgraded from RSAF A-4S and A-4S-1.
;TA-4SU Super Skyhawk » Upgraded from RSAF TA-4S and TA-4S-1 trainer.
Operators
Specifications (A-4SU)
Further Information
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