How Singapore’s Aerospace Industry took flight

Our Little Red Dot is the region’s leading aerospace hub today and can be likened to a United Nations for the global industry – over 100 international aerospace companies represented on this tiny island. Pretty remarkable for a country less than half the size of London.

How did we get here? I’d love to say we were prescient – our strategies spot on from the beginning, and plans executed to perfection with Singapore-style efficiency. But those who know better would struggle to suppress their chuckles.

The Fledgling Years

It’s no secret Singapore’s aerospace industry was birthed from existential necessity. As a small island state, a national carrier was imperative for us to establish connectivity to the rest of the world. The withdrawal of the British in the 1960s also necessitated the development of an air force to defend our borders. Hence, the establishment of the Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) in 1966 and the Singapore Air Defence Command (SADC) in 1968. As a corollary, maintenance and repair capabilities were required to support our commercial and military aircraft.

In 1969, EDB commissioned American consulting firm Murphy Mundy and Associates Inc¹ to explore the prospects of developing an aviation and aerospace industry. This report recommended establishing a regional air servicing centre and leveraging the existing infrastructure at Seletar Air Base to develop an aircraft manufacturing industry. 

The findings from Murphy’s report informed the 1971 Concept Plan (Singapore’s first long-term national land use plan), and the surroundings of Seletar Air Base were earmarked for a mix of industrial use and residential housing.

But whilst plans were made, it soon became clear these were over optimistic²³. The plans had been premised on American defence spending that was driving growth in the region, but that premise could no longer hold when the United States withdrew from Vietnam in 1973.

With the likes of American defence company Lockheed Aircraft substantially reducing its presence in the region, our Ministry for Defence deemed it critical for local capabilities to be developed to service the needs of the SADC (now Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF)). To that end, the Singapore Aerospace Maintenance Co Pte Ltd (SAMCO) was birthed in 1974.

Concurrently, Singapore Airlines (which was established in 1972 after MSA ceased operations) began developing the requisite skills to maintain its commercial aircraft at our then-international airport Paya Lebar. As for Seletar Air Base, it settled down as a small enclave for aircraft maintenance, repair, as well as general aviation activities, with the likes Heli Orient⁵ and Hawker De Havilland (later known as Hawker Pacific) operating out from the area.

The 1970s saw an interesting development. A debate arose within Government on whether to relocate Singapore’s international airport from Paya Lebar to Changi. This is well documented in a publication by the Centre for Liveable Cities – “Integrating the Planning of Airports and the City: The Singapore Story”⁶. An inter-agency platform known as the Special Committee on Airport Development was established in 1975 to recommend the appropriate course of action; and eventually, the call was made to move to Changi.

In parallel, the Jurong Town Corporation (now simply known as JTC) kickstarted the development of the 193-ha Loyang Industrial Estate. Its proximity to the future Changi Airport made it a prime location for aerospace companies. In 1978, Loyang welcomed its first aerospace company when Vac-Hyd Processing Singapore opened its engine component repair operations⁷.

This was followed by the likes of hydraulic flight control systems overhaul provider FAS-Orient in 1978, engine component repair facility General Electric in 1981, as well as aircraft tyre company Dunlop Aviation in 1982. To encourage some early investments, EDB co-shared risks by putting “skin in the game” through equity. In Vac-Hyd, for instance, EDB took a 30% equity stake to kickstart the project.

Blue Sky Thinking

Listen as Glory Wee, Senior Vice President and Head, Resource and Carbon Division at EDB and Sia Kheng Yok, Chief Executive, Association of Aerospace Industries (Singapore) delve into Singapore's pivotal role in securing a substantial share of the global maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) market in this interview with Singapore radio station, MoneyFM;
 

Taking Flight

The 1980s was an exciting decade. The rise in air travel, and the emergence of Singapore Airlines as a leading international airline ushered in an era of growth for the industry. I consider 1981, in particular, special. That was the year Changi Airport opened.

A dedicated “Aerospace & Defence Industries” unit was established within EDB to hunt for investments that would create attractive jobs for Singaporeans. Companies drawn to Singapore included the likes of TRW Turbine Overhaul Services in 1982 (which became TOS), Sperry Aerospace & Marine in 1986 (which became Honeywell Avionics), Dowty Aviation Services which acquired HeliOrient in 1987 (which became SAFRAN Landing Systems). 

Most of these activities were in the areas of aircraft and component maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), largely driven by Changi Airport’s traffic and the baseload from Singapore Airlines.

In parallel, Singapore carved a niche in the military space. SAMCO had been amalgamated within SAI in 1981, together the likes of Singapore Aero-Engine Overhaul and Singapore Aerospace Manufacturing; which in turn, came under the umbrella of Sheng-Li – a government holding company for defence investments. In 1989, Sheng-Li was restructured as Singapore Technologies Holdings, and this seeded what we now know as ST Engineering Aerospace.

1981 was also the year Singapore organised its first aerospace exhibition. The inaugural Asian Aerospace was held at Paya Lebar Airport and relocated to Changi in 1984. Singapore has held a biennial airshow at Changi ever since. As an airshow is never complete without aerial displays, the CAAS closed Changi’s airspace and rescheduled flights to enable flying displays to take place – a practice which continues till today to the delight of Singaporeans young and old.
 

Spreading Our Wings

By 1990, Singapore’s aerospace industry output had reached over S$860mil, and our local companies were going global. ST Aerospace (now ST Engineering Aerospace) had extended its operations from military to civil with its first commercial airframe facilities established in Singapore and Alabama. The Singapore Girl had made her mark (a waxwork was even unveiled in London’s Madame Tussauds to commemorate her 21^st birthday in 1993), and Singapore Airlines was well established as a premier international airline. This had tremendous impact on our local industry development.

Our national carrier’s consistent purchases of Pratt & Whitney engines to power its Boeing 747 fleet up till the 1990s made Singapore Airlines a critical customer to the engine manufacturer; and gave impetus for Pratt & Whitney to enter into several engine MRO joint ventures¹¹ with SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC), which had been established in 1992.

These included the likes of Asian Surface Technologies that was set up in 1994¹² and Eagle Services Asia that was established in 1998. Singapore’s first nacelle MRO facility – Goodrich Aerostructures Service Centre-Asia (GASCA)¹³ – was also established by SIAEC in 1995 through a joint venture with Goodrich Corporation (which was subsequently acquired by United Technologies Corporation).

In 1995, a decision by Singapore Airlines was to alter the landscape of our industry. That year, the airlines placed its first order for the Boeing 777; and for the first time in its corporate history, selected Rolls-Royce engines. This baseload from Singapore Airlines prompted Rolls-Royce to establish an engine MRO joint venture with SIAEC. Singapore Aero Engine Services Pte Ltd opened in 2001, and remains the only Trent engine MRO centre across Rolls-Royce’s global network that can support all its engine variants till today.

In the lead-up to the turn of the century, Singapore made great progress anchoring aftermarket activities. But whilst Singapore could boast of comprehensive “nose-to-tail” MRO capabilities, manufacturing activities remained elusive, save for the few plants that had been established in the earlier years such as Sundstrand (1971), Garrett (1978) and Diethelm Aviation (1978).

Turbulence

In 2001, 9/11 struck and the global aerospace industry was hard hit. The 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) further challenged the industry. As demand for air travel fell, so did demand for MRO. These developments gave EDB pause to re-evaluate our strategies.

Still, there was no doubt air travel would eventually return, and we were determined to position ourselves favourably or growth. Changi and Loyang Industrial Estates were already mature, and it was time for us to revisit Seletar Air Base again. 

¹ “Report for Singapore on aerospace industry”, Soh Tiang Keng, The Straits Times, 20 April 1969.
² “Singapore set for a new ‘career’ in aviation”, Tsai Tan, The Straits Times, 3 May 1971.
³ “Sky’s the limit but aerospace industry did not quite make the heights”, P.N. Balji, New Nation, 15 December 1971.
⁵ Heli Orient (Pte) Ltd, subsidiary of Anglo-Thai Corporation established in 1969.
⁶ https://www.clc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/urban-systems-studies/uss-integrating-the-planning-of-airports-and-the-city.pdf
⁷ “Aerospace plant in Loyang takes off”, Ronnie Lim, Business Times, 15 April 1978.
¹¹ “P&W to sign deals with S’pore aerospace firms”, Alec Almazan, Business Times, 23 February 1994
¹² Praxair Surface Technologies Inc (40.8%), SIAEC (39.2%) & United Technologies International Corporation (20%)
¹³ 40:60 joint venture between SIAEC and Goodrich Corporation. Goodrich was acquired by UTC and merged with UTC subsidiary Hamilton Sundstrand to form UTC Aerospace Systems in 2012. In 2018, UTC acquired Rockwell Collins, and merged this with UTC Aerospace Systems to form what is now known as Collins Aerospace.