ST Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawk

A-4S and TA-4S Starting in 1973, the RSAF began to acquire Douglas A-4 Skyhawks. The first batch of over 50 airframes (ex-US Navy A-4Bs) was requisitioned from the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center at Davis–Monthan AFB, Arizona which was released to the Lockheed Aircraft Service Company at Ontario, California, and its subsidiary Lockheed Aircraft Service Singapore at Seletar Airfield, Singapore for a major overhaul and refurbishment. These aircraft emerged as the A-4S single-seater (44 airframes) and the TA-4S two-seat trainer (three airframes), all having more than 100 changes incorporated (these included a 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, a cranked refuelling probe, AIM-9 Sidewinder capability, a brake parachute housing below the jetpipe into the standard A-4B airframes. As with the Israeli A-4Hs which were armed with a pair of 30 mm DEFA cannons, these were similarly armed with the ADEN cannons in place of the original 20 mm Colt Mk 12 cannons. A later order of four two-seat trainer airframes was placed in 1976, and these joined the RSAF in 1977. s on the drooped leading edge slats and the ram-air intake mounted on the portside for engine cooling, are unique to the TA-4SU. The TA-4S trainers were not the standard TA-4 with a common cockpit for the student and instructor pilot, but were instead rebuilt by Lockheed with a 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. This arrangement was unique for the RSAF but was not the first by Lockheed (the Lockheed SR-71B and U-2CT/U-2RT/TR-1B/TU-2S trainers also used stepped cockpits). These rebuilt TA-4S trainers were powered by the original Wright J65 turbojet engines as used in the B/C models instead of the Pratt & Whitney J52 that powered purpose-built TA-4E/Fs trainers from Douglas; this was the main reason why the RSAF decided to not procure the TA-4E/Fs and then having to maintain two different engines across the fleet. ==Operational history==

AIM-9 Sidewinders painted in blue are carried on the outboard pylons. By 1974, the RSAF received enough refurbished A-4S to form the No. 142 Gryphon Squadron and No. 143 Phoenix 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 serials starting with 6 (e.g. 600, 651). From 1982, A-4S-1 and TA-4S-1 Skyhawks were also obtained as attrition replacements; in 1984, the balance was allocated to form a new unit - No. 145 Hornet Squadron which was also based at Tengah Air Base. These were given 3-digit serial starting with 9 (e.g. 900, 929). In 1998, the French government offered the use of facilities at Cazaux Air Base. A 25-year lease for basing rights of 18 A-4SUs and approximately 250 RSAF personnel and their families was signed later that year. The Singapore-based 143 Squadron was disbanded in 1997 and its aircraft were handed over to 150 Squadron in place of its SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 basic trainers. The 11 remaining training aircraft (4 A-4SUs and 7 TA-4SUs) were originally scheduled to retire in 2007, but remained in service until the delivery of their replacement, the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master, which was scheduled for 2012. After 31 years of operations, the RSAF officially withdrew its A-4SU fleet from front line duties on 31 March 2005. Major feats included a direct flight from Singapore to the Philippines (involvin the RSAF's first air-to-air refuelling mission) in 1986, as well as the aerobatic displays of the 'red and white' A-4SUs flown by the RSAF's Black Knights during Asian Aerospace 1990, 1994 and 2000, it was last used by the Black Knights during Singapore's National Day Parade held on 9 August 2000. A month before its retirement, the Skyhawk squadron (145 Squadron) 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. On 5 October 2005, one A-4SU was delivered to Singapore Polytechnic as a teaching aid. Temasek Polytechnic and Nanyang Technological University each received an A-4SU as well. only 928 has been on display in the museum's Rosette Hall as 941 was stored. ==Variants==

;A-4SU Super Skyhawk :Upgraded from A-4S-1. ;TA-4SU Super Skyhawk :Upgraded from TA-4S and TA-4S-1 trainer. ==Operators==

; • Republic of Singapore Air Force • 142 Squadron: last operational RSAF squadron to operate the Super Skyhawks, disbanded on 1 April 2005 but was subsequently reformed in 2015 to operate the F-15SG. • The RSAF Black Knights aerobatic team operated the A-4SU from 1990 to 2000, they switched to an all F-16C six-ship formation for their performance during the 2008 Singapore Airshow. ==Aircraft on display==

• A-4S (600) BuNo 142850, static display at Singapore Discovery Centre. • A-4S (690) BuNo 144979, static display at SAFTI Military Institute. • TA-4SU (900) BuNo 147742, static display at Singapore Air Force Museum. ==Specifications (A-4SU)==