Newburgh's 105th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard takes part in Singapore Air Show
Latham, NY (04/01/2024) — A C-17 aircrew assigned to the New York Air National Guard's 105th Airlift Wing, based at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh supported the Singapore Airshow 2024 at Changi Airbase East, in the Republic of Singapore from February 20 to 25.
The 105th aircrew flew an Army Army AH-64G Apache Guardian attack helicopter and an MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the New York Air National Guard's 174th Attack Wing, to the airshowas well.
This gave the United States an opportunity to both sharpen ties with Singapore, and demonstrate their flexible global reach capabilities.
"The 105th is proud to participate in this opportunity, and opportunities like it, to strengthen our ties with Singapore and other partner nations," said New York Air National Guard Col. Ryan Dannemann, the commander of the 105th Airlift Wing.
"We're always excited to showcase our C-17s and their impressive airlift capabilities," he said.
The aircrew manned the C-17 static display for five days, answering questions, taking pictures with guests and giving tours to children, allies and industry partners.
"Families from all around the world flew down there for the event," said New York Air National Guard Lt. Col. Emile Sendral, the acting 105th Operations Group commander and one of the aircrew's four pilots. "Interacting with them, handing them patches and stickers, and just teaching them about the C-17 was a lot of fun. It was a highlight."
The aircrew also had the opportunity to meet with airmen of many ally and partner nations, bonding with aviators from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, and South Korea at the Paya Lebar Republic of Singapore Air Force Base.
"We got to interact with pilots and aircrew from all over the world," said Sendral. "We shared commonalities like the joy of flying, and we learned about each other's missions."
The MQ-9 Reaper, a remotely piloted aircraft, is flown by the 174th Attack Wing at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse.
The AH-64E that was displayed is assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 229th Attack Battalion, a part ofthe 16th Combat Aviation Brigade based at Joint Base Lewis- McCord in Washington state.
This was also the first time the 105th has ever loaded both an MQ-9 and an Apache together.
"Cramming those in the back of a C-17 and taking it halfway around the world was a great experience that we learned from and displayed the sheer combat power of a C-17," Sendral recalled. "It can quickly take a drone and an Apache anywhere around the world, offload them in a matter of hours and then have them up and ready to go. It was a great display for our partners in the region."
The airshow included eight aerial demonstrations, including the Royal Signapore Air Force's F-15SG fighter jet, the Indian Air Force's Sarang aerial display team of HAL Dhruv utility helicopters, the Indonesian Air Force's Jupiter aerobatic team of KT-1B Light Attack Aircraft, and the Republic of Korea Air Force's Black Eagles in their KAI T-50B jets. There were also more than 1,000 exhibitors from 50 countries and approximately 99,000 visitors over the five-day event, making it one of the largest defense exhibitions in the Pacific.
"This has been just one of many initiatives taken by our Airmen to increase readiness while supporting missions worldwide," said Dannemann. "We look forward to our continued partnership with Singapore as we strengthen our relations throughout the Indo-Pacific region."
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SINGAPORE -- New York Air National Guardsmen assigned to the 105th Airlift Wing stand in front of the C-17 Globemaster III for group photo in front of the aircraft they flew to the Singapore Airshow 2024 at the Changi Airbase East Republic of Singapore on Feb. 20, 2024. Participating in the airshow gives the United States the opportunity to build on its already strong ties with Singapore demonstrate flexible aircraft capability enable engagement with foreign partners and expand power projection capabilities. U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech Sgt. Daniel Hotter