Advertisements

Aviation / Aerospace

ST Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawk

Fighter-Bomber / Advanced Jet Trainer Aircraft [ 1989 ]

The ST Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawk represents a Singaporean evolution of the Vietnam War-era Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bomber series.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/05/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Advertisements

The A-4 Skyhawk originally appeared in 1956 as a product of the Douglas Aircraft Company, later absorbed into McDonnell Douglas. The aircraft proved a success as it saw considerable action in the Vietnam War (1955-1975) and some 2,960 units were produced with operators spanning the globe. The United States gave up use of the series in 2003 (USN) and the Israeli Air Force followed in 2015 (trainer versions were the last to go). Operators continuing to service the line include Argentina (as the modernized "Fightinghawk"), Brazil, and Singapore - the latter operating what is referred to as the definitive variant of the Skyhawk.

As the A-4 was ending its frontline reign, Singapore took the initiative - with help from American defense industry powerhouse Lockheed Martin - to locally modernize and vastly upgrade the A-4S models it maintained. The charge fell to Singapore Aircraft Industries (SAI) (now ST Aerospace) and the company produced the newer A-4SU "Super Skyhawk" form. A first-flight was recorded on September 19th, 1986 with service introduction following in 1989. About 150 Skyhawks were rebuilt to this standard, the first eight completed by Lockheed Martin, and a dedicated single-seat strike form and two-seat advanced jet trainer form emerged. Only the latter (A-4SU) remains in service with the Republic of Singapore Air Force as of this writing (2016).

Singapore received its original 40-strong Skyhawk inventory from ex-United States Navy stocks beginning in 1970 and these batches were centered on B- and C-models, becoming the "A-4S" in Singapore service. Changes to these earlier machines included installation of a more powerful Wright J65-W-20 turbojet engine and updated navigation-attack system. Other modifications included an Automatic Direction Finder (ADF) hidden in a dorsal "hump" on the fuselage, a lengthened nose housing a new avionics fit, and support for the AIM-9 "Sidewinder" short-range Air-to-Air Missile (AAM). 2 x 30mm ADEN cannons replaced the original 2 x 20mm Colt Mk 12 cannons in most of these aircraft. C-models arrived in 1980 (70) with additional B-models coming in 1983 (16) with some held in reserve for spares and others converted to the S-standard.©MilitaryFactory.com

Advertisements

To squeeze more life out of the existing inventory of still-useful-but-aging A-4S airframes (their engines were becoming more akin to museum pieces than proper military propulsion systems - thusly more expensive to maintain and repair with spare parts becoming increasingly hard to come by), a mid-1980s program (1984) was pushed through that saw the original Wright J65 turbojet engines replaced by non-afterburning General Electric F-404-GE-1000D turbofan engine of 10,800 lb thrust output. The avionics package was also upgraded to a more modern standard (AN/APG-145 Mapping and Ranging Radar, Litton LN-93 series Inertial Navigation System, GEC-Ferranti 4510 HUD, BAe Systems MED-2067 series MFDs) and the nose carried a Lockheed Martin "Pave Penny" laser seeker system for delivery of laser-guided munitions. A new CounterMeasures (CM) unit was installed and Radar Warning Receivers (RWRs) added at front- and rear-facing positions to help increase the product's battlefield survivability.

The program was broken down into Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 dealt with turbofan engines and involved Grumman and General Electric as the airframe had to accommodate the newer, larger and heavier engine which also forced a revision to the air intakes along the fuselage sides. The introduction of the F404 resulted in an immediate 15% increase to straightline speeds as nearly 30% more power became available to the airframe. This also led to an improved rate-of-climb (35%) and better initial thrust acceleration (up to 40% greater).

First-flight of a prototype was completed on September 19th, 1986 and service entry of this new mark was in 1989 through 143 Squadron, 142 Squadron and 145 Squadron (in that order) and the aircraft also formed the mount-of-choice for the "Black Knights" of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) aerobatic team. 52 A-4S Skyhawks were converted to the A-4SU "Super Skyhawk" standard. Phase 2 involved Ferranti (BAe Systems) applying their advanced avionics kit detailed above.

"Super Skyhawks" served the Singapore Air Force for over thirty years and appeared across two distinct variants, the "A-4SU" built from A-4S-1 aircraft and the "TA-4SU" built from TA-4S and TA-4S-1 trainer aircraft. Final trainer forms have been succeeded by Italian-originated Alenia Aermacchi M-346 "Master" advanced jet trainers (detailed elsewhere on this site).

As finalized, A-4SU Super Skyhawks managed a maximum speed of 700 miles per hour, a range out to 2,000 miles with three drop tanks fitted, and a service ceiling up to 40,000 feet. Five hardpoints allowed for the carrying of missiles, guided ordnance, drop ordnance and rocket pods with three positions plumbed for fuel tanks.©MilitaryFactory.com

Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications

Service Year

1989

Origin

Sinagpore

Crew

1

Production

150
UNITS

ST Aerospace (Singapore Aircraft Industries) - Singapore / Grumman - USA

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Singapore (retired)

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

✓ Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

✓ Close-Air Support (CAS)
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.

✓ Training (General)
Developed ability to be used as a dedicated trainer for student pilots (typically under the supervision of an instructor).

Length

41.8 ft
(12.73 m)

Width/Span

27.6 ft
(8.40 m)

Height

14.9 ft
(4.55 m)

Empty Wgt

10,251 lb
(4,650 kg)

MTOW

22,498 lb
(10,205 kg)

Wgt Diff

+12,247 lb
(+5,555 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base ST Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawk production variant)

Installed: 1 x General Electric F404-GE-100D turbofan engine developing 10,800lb of thrust.

Max Speed

702 mph
(1,130 kph | 610 kts)

Ceiling

40,026 ft
(12,200 m | 8 mi)

Range

2,001 mi
(3,220 km | 5,963 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

10,915 ft/min
(3,327 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base ST Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawk production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

STANDARD, FIXED:
2 x 30mm ADEN internal cannons

OPTIONAL:
Up to 9,900lb of externally-held ordnance across five hardpoints including Air-to-Air Missiles (AAMs), Air-to-Surface Missiles (ASMs), rocket pods, laser-guided bombs, conventional drop bombs and up to 3 x jettisonable fuel tanks for increased range.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft automatic cannon

Graphical image of an air-to-air missile weapon

Graphical image of a short-range air-to-air missile

Graphical image of an aircraft air-to-surface missile

Graphical image of aircraft aerial rockets

Graphical image of an aircraft rocket pod

Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition

Graphical image of an aircraft guided bomb munition

Graphical image of an aircraft external fuel tank

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 5

A-4SU "Super Skyhawk" - Base Series Name; single-seat fighter-bomber form built from existing A-4S operational models.

TA-4SU "Super Skyhawk" - Tandem two-seat advanced jet trainer form.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery

1 / 1

Image of the ST Aerospace A-4SU Super Skyhawk

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Advertisements

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons.

View day-by-day actions of the American Civil War with CivilWarTimeline.net. View day-by-day actions of World War II with SecondWorldWarHistory.com.

©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)