"To me, it was the first time in history for the two countries to conduct a flypast to form a 50 figure well," Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said.Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto praised RISING 50 event in Singapore on Thursday afternoon to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Singapore as a new history for the two countries air forces.
"To me, it was the first time in history for the two countries to conduct a flypast to form a 50 figure well," he said here. RISING is the short form of RI (Republic of Indonesia) and Singapore while 50 refers to the years of their relations.
Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto arrived at Pekanbaru after 20 F16 Fighting Falcons of the Indonesia and Singapore Air Forces finished conducting the flypast mission above Marina Bay in Singapore, which was also witnessed by President Joko Widodo and Singapores Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Hadi Tjahjanto also joined the flight boarding F16 which was piloted by Lt.Col. Yoga Ambara, while chief of Singapores Air Force Major General Mervyn Tan also did the same aboard one of its F16s.
At the commemorative event the two countries air forces also formed "arrow ahead" and "bomb burst" which was done by six F15s of the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
After the flypast the chiefs of the two countries air forces arrived at Pekanbaru airbase.
"This shows that relations between the two countries continued improving and grew deeper," Marshal Tjahjanto said.
Major General Mervyn Tan shared Tjahjantos view that the event was historic as this was the first joint flight with a difficult formation that requires skills and trust.
He said it was not easy to conduct flypast in which TNI AU (Indonesian air force) formed a 5 figure and RSAF an 0 figure. He believed it was successful because of the good relations that have been developed between the two countries so far.
Indonesia and Singapore has built bilateral relations since 1967 and the two neighboring countries have cooperated in many sectors. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the relations.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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