Highway to Runway
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While I'm glad we have such emergency or backup runways during a crisis, but won't any aggressors know that we have such capabilities and target LCK Rd as well?
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we r 1 of the few countries tt practise these......other countries include: sweden, finland, poland
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many countries are practising it, however onli a few does it openly. US and GB are one of the pioneers in doing that, turning small towns into an airbase with the help of advance mobile control tower and harriers, which are more advance and complex than using only highway.
Singapore are jus at the tip of the iceberg in such preparation. Actually got other roads can be use other that LCK. A part of ECP and a part of TPE near PLAB can be done too. -
think you quite missed the real message......Originally posted by whack:While I'm glad we have such emergency or backup runways during a crisis, but won't any aggressors know that we have such capabilities and target LCK Rd as well?
the news clearly indicated the ability of the RSAF planes to use the arresting hook landing system... a system similarly used on USN supercarriers to land fighter jets like F14 and F18s...
to me... couple with the fact that a fighter plane requires a far shorter runway .... probably less then 500 meter to land under normal conditions, with the hook arresting system.. an F-16 probably can now be forced to land in under 200 meter...
that would effectively open up a huge huge huge number of singapore roads that can be quickly cleared of debris and enable our planes to land.... which is very important... if we want continued air support and cover... afterall... if our planes cant land... they would be forced to crash... very bad thing to happen if you want to maintain air superiority or win a war.... especially more so in singapore's case... since we knew that the MAF has the ability to carry out a runway denial attack with their MRLS and G5 in a first strike.
However... having the ability to land our planes after a mission is only half runway problem resolved... we still need to find a way to send our fighters into the air using probably the same short runway... afterall... IT doesnt make sense to have a fighter plane land on a runway which it cannot take off from later on.... sound stupid if you get my point...
so ... how do you launch a figher using a 200 meter long road?? that is something that i would like to know..... there a few known methods of course... but it cannot be applied to all fighter planes...
But... assuming that initial fighter mission would be confined to air superiority... the planes wont be carrying max loadouts.. as such.. they probably wont be carrying a lot of weight..... and could be configured to take off as light as possible.... especially since... i dont think our fighter need to carry lots of fuel to reach enemy space....
BUT the most important... is to find a way to repair a cratered runway or road in the shortest time possible.... like maybe pouring quick set cement... or even special resin based or poly hydrocarbon base liquid fillings that could be hardened rapidly... like those they use as tooth fillings...
BEst idea... is...... build a vehicle that carries the entire runway on its back
like the leguan... why must leguan carry a bridging equipment??? why cant we configure it to carry runways that can be stretched out and placed end to end to create a runway as long as is required???
if the leguan bridge can take tons of weight. including tanks... surely it can take the weight of a plane... -
the RSAF probably already have such a vehicle....
OR the RSAF might have a launch vehicle to catapult our falcons into the air like a rocket pad.... haa.a.a.a -
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Full afterburners to take off instead of full military. The F-16 if not heavily weighed down can do it.
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There are a couple of ways to help jet fighters take off with short runways. One of the most common method is the rocket assisted takeoff where rockets are stripped onto the fusalage of the aircraft and ignite during take off. This was common with the F104 StarFighter. Other common methods including using of ramps (like the ramps used for some aircraft carriers today. With some sort of portable, quick install catapult systems, an jet can take off less than 400m. Aircrafts of the size of the F5s and Vipers should be able to take off shorter than 400m if they can be launch from some sort of land based catapult system.
While in terms of having the jets to take off if the runways in Paya Lebar, Tengah and Changi are taken out, the roads systems are the quickest means. There are also a couple of alternatives including, using large fields (usually more suited for Russian made jets because they come with mud flaps and the intake have special shields as in the case of Mig29, to prevent FOD objects from being sucked into the engines).
Singapore could also have underground runways or tunnels where part of the runways are sunk underground and only about 200m above ground, thus allowing the fighters roll some 400m or more protected and the last 200m for final take off. Once again, these tunnels have to be relatively straight and wide enuff, plus they also must have real good exhaust fans too...
Lastly, RSAF would have also invested in acquiring runway repair vehicles where they could quickly cover bombed out holes, level and compact the filled-in holes and temporary tarmac it within a very short period of time. -
Oh. Thanks. Sounds like it can be a runway almost anywhere as long as we fit aircraft carrier technology and practices here on the roads. In that case, awesome.
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the last excercise in 1998 already tested the mobile arresting systemOriginally posted by tripwire:the news clearly indicated the ability of the RSAF planes to use the arresting hook landing system... a system similarly used on USN supercarriers to land fighter jets like F14 and F18s...
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not many I'm afraid, the road needs to be wide enough too. most roads come with a central divider. if you go to LCK rd, u notice that the road is very wide but on tv, once the E-2C taxi into it. The road looks so narrow. There are however a few roads that were design for emergency runway, one in tuas area and another i know is the road leading to changi control tower.Originally posted by tripwire:that would effectively open up a huge huge huge number of singapore roads that can be quickly cleared of debris and enable our planes to land....
there are about 10 runways in our airports/bases that supports fighters not including converted roads. -
Not to forget the most prominent emergency airforce runaway which is near east coast park.Just remove the plants and wooden barriers.The road will give you an excellent runwayOriginally posted by cavsg:not many I'm afraid, the road needs to be wide enough too. most roads come with a central divider. if you go to LCK rd, u notice that the road is very wide but on tv, once the E-2C taxi into it. The road looks so narrow. There are however a few roads that were design for emergency runway, one in tuas area and another i know is the road leading to changi control tower.
there are about 10 runways in our airports/bases that supports fighters not including converted roads.
i think its so wide that it can even get a kc-135R or Fokker 50 on the road.No sweat -
I believe that were original catered for civillian airlines as the road leads to Changi Airport. They are wide enough to cater for medium to large size Boeing and Airbuses, but I don't think the new A380 will fit though.... Reason for that is that if Changi Airport runways are somehow unabled to be used, eg. aircraft somehow got "stuck" on the runway and makes landing impossible and it may take time to remove, the ECP could be quickly used as emergency landings especially for planes running out of fuel.Originally posted by Mech^O^GATor:Not to forget the most prominent emergency airforce runaway which is near east coast park.Just remove the plants and wooden barriers.The road will give you an excellent runway i think its so wide that it can even get a kc-135R or Fokker 50 on the road.No sweat
Of course in times of war, the same road could be used by military jets. It is just that you will never see RSAF practice on those roads - ever. -
there are 2 runways currently at changi, the new fighter runway is also ready, the practise is if the aerodrome is closed, aircraft will be diverted to nearby airports. there is no practise in the world where airplanes will be diverted to converted runways. even if its open the pilots won't want to land there. the approach is different. icao will not approved it. a runway needs to be certified by them so that commercial planes can land there. pilots won't land becos the markings are different. there are many other points i dun wish to elaborate. but 1 final point, isn't it faster to get the runway servicable then to waste manpower to convert a road, divert traffic, and the aircraft somehow need to find a way to circle 4,5 days overhead to wait for road to be converted.Originally posted by Joe Black:I believe that were original catered for civillian airlines as the road leads to Changi Airport. They are wide enough to cater for medium to large size Boeing and Airbuses, but I don't think the new A380 will fit though.... Reason for that is that if Changi Airport runways are somehow unabled to be used, eg. aircraft somehow got "stuck" on the runway and makes landing impossible and it may take time to remove, the ECP could be quickly used as emergency landings especially for planes running out of fuel.
Of course in times of war, the same road could be used by military jets. It is just that you will never see RSAF practice on those roads - ever.
road runways are meant for war time use only. not civilian use