Weakness of RSAF?

Anza Andy SG

What are the major weaknesses of RSAF?

duotiga83 SG

lack of open airspace in sg

SingaporeTyrannosaur SG

Lack of skilled opponents, thus a lot of their talents will be wasted in war shooting down the hamburgers (half-past six pilots) of other countries…

foxtrout8 SG

The weakness of the RSAF lays in Singapore's geographic constraint. 1) a lack of airspace. 2) within range of enemy artillery. ( our country is too small and too near to our neighbours ).

However with all this weakness , of course doesnt mean Singapore didnt make at effort to reduce the constraint.....

buzz SG

It's a professional organisation and have learned and absorbed the art of air defense very well.

In fact in some areas they are now probably one of the leaders in SEA if not the world.

However they have no operational experience and that is their main weakness.

The longer this situation stays the worst it will become. All the energy and talent has to be directed somewhere and I hate to see this going the wrong way......... Eg Over-emphasis on safety at the expense of operational functions.

I wonder "Is a zero accident air force the best war fighting organisation?"

Moonstriker SG

no…

Joe Black SG

RSAF as a whole does not have many weaknesses other than those already discussed above. RSAF is very integrated, from air-defense components to the fighter jets. The multi-tiers engagement model works very well in a very tight airspace like Singapore. Essentially RSAF can quickly achieve air-superiority within the 200km radius around Singapore.

If we are to compare RSAF with other air forces in the world, I would rate RSAF very highly. But having said that, RSAF is very much oriented to defensive doctrine and it is starting to build its offensive capabilities (especially long range... I shouldn't elaborate more here). RSAF also has a major gap which it is quickly filling up very quickly in the area of BVR engagements. In the past, RSAF can only conduct WVR operations or training as Sidewinders were the only missiles they have. Now, they have AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9, AIm-120, Python, etc, the variety and capability in BVR engagements have significantly improved. Of course I would like to see the introduction of latest BVR missiles such as Mica or ramjet powered AMRAAMs in the near future.

My RSAF friend also told me how foreign air force pilots were pleasantly surprised at how RSAF performed during war games like the Red Flag. The pilots were quick to react to tactical changes well. Some of them even demonstrated capability to "think outside the box", employing tactics that were not normally "taught" or used (again, not going into any details here... going to be too long-winded). That shows the quality of our individual pilots.

RSAF lacks the experience in conducting large packet strikes unlike the USAF or even RAF. RSAF are usually tailored more to smaller packets. However, this is slowly overcome with the pilots joining various big exercises with foreign power in war games. The Viper training in US is providing RSAF significant capabilities improvement. The bi-annual exericses like Cope Thunder and Pitch Black are providing RSAF invaluable experiences.

Yes, RSAF pilots lack real operational experiences, but having joint exericses with many countries whose pilots having gone through real operations, even wars, helps. RSAF are getting real -life operation experience through these exercises. You don't get any more real than these exercises. The only difference is that in exercises like these, the pilots do not have to face real incoming SAMs or missiles.

FInally, with topics like this, it is difficult to discuss because there is no proper benchmark in which the discussion is made. What is weakness? How do we definte weaknesses? Are we talking about general organisation wise? tactics? ORBAT? etc???? Are we comparing RSAF with region air forces or other foreign power? We can say RSAF cannot project force outside xxx KM, send an offensive force to, say South America, does that mean it is a weakness? No of course, because it is not even Singapore sphere of influence or RSAF operational theatre. Thus, when we do not have a benchmark, how do we spot what are weaknesses?

RSAF is constantly acquiring new capabilities. During the learning process, do we can the lack of these new capabilities weaknesses????

Lastly, how do you discuss about weaknesses without revealling too much info...

jammed SG

Originally posted by Joe Black:
...with topics like this, it is difficult to discuss because there is no proper benchmark in which the discussion is made. What is weakness? ...

i agree, effectiveness or weaknesses perhaps could not be simply assessed. Can i offer another perspective? that RSAF is a component of a nation's security system and its effectiveness/weakness should also be evaluated in its ability/inability to co-operate with the Army and RSN in serving SG's security?

RSAF's primary mission is to achieve air superiority over area of operations. But that is only meaningful inasmuch as to allow ground/naval elements the space to advance their respective missions without interference from enemy aircraft while at the same time to provide air support for these elements. Air superiority by itself would otherwise be rather meaningless, wouldn't it be? So, an effective RSAF would be rather pointless if the Army or RSN are not; for the RSAF to be effective, the entire SAF, or even the entire country's security system, including civil defence and intelligence services, should be similarly effective, integrated so that all the components could operate as one.

just my 2c Smile

buzz SG

FInally, with topics like this, it is difficult to discuss because there is no proper benchmark in which the discussion is made. What is weakness? How do we definte weaknesses? Are we talking about general organisation wise? tactics? ORBAT? etc???? Are we comparing RSAF with region air forces or other foreign power? We can say RSAF cannot project force outside xxx KM, send an offensive force to, say South America, does that mean it is a weakness? No of course, because it is not even Singapore sphere of influence or RSAF operational theatre. Thus, when we do not have a benchmark, how do we spot what are weaknesses?

Another point on RSAF weakness - Benchmarking.........having no war experience, how then does RSAF knows what she's doing is right?

How does one org measures against others in terms of war fighting abilities without ever going to war?

What parameters do you use for those measures? I wonder if one can ever find a set of parameters for the job.......

I can imagine all sorts of ways where those scholars in RSAF can go wrong in searching for these measures. I guess one way is never expecting to find an answer but to always keep looking.