Singapore Air Force completes F-50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft deployment to the Gulf of Aden

source flightglobal.com

July 15, 2011 defpro.com

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Fokker-50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (F-50 MPA) detachment has returned from its three-month deployment in the Gulf of Aden. The detachment was welcomed home by their families and Chief of Air Force Major-General Ng Chee Meng together with senior officers from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) at a homecoming ceremony held at Changi Air Base this morning.

The F-50 MPA detachment was based in Djibouti and operated under the ambit of the multinational Combined Task Force (CTF) 151. During its deployment, the detachment conducted 58 sorties of maritime air surveillance to provide CTF 151 with an enhanced sea situation picture of the Gulf of Aden, as well as performed coordinated search operations to locate and investigate suspicious vessels.

At the ceremony, the F-50 MPA detachment commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Song Chun Keet, said, "I am proud to lead a team of professionals as part of the multi-national efforts to counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The detachment worked hard to overcome the challenges and completed all the missions assigned to us successfully and safely. I am also glad to hear from our international partners that the SAF's contributions and professionalism were much appreciated."

The SAF also recently completed its second tour of command of CTF 151 from March to June this year. Later this year, the SAF will be deploying a task group comprising a Landing Ship Tank with two Super Puma helicopters to the Gulf of Aden for the third time since April 2009.