Singapore Delivers 14.9 Tonnes of Gaza Aid in Second Airdrop Operation

Five Flights Carry Relief From Jordan to Gaza

Singapore delivered 14.9 tonnes of humanitarian supplies into Gaza during an operation from August 12 to 25, 2025, using a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) C-130 transport aircraft based in Jordan. The aircraft flew five sorties, or operational flights, alongside foreign air forces during the two week deployment.

The mission was Singapore's second airdrop operation over Gaza and its ninth tranche of humanitarian assistance since the war escalated in late 2023. A contingent of 58 personnel took part, with support from the Singapore Army's 3rd SAF Transport Battalion and defence partners. Singapore's Ministry of Defence confirmed that the crew returned safely after completing the deliveries.

Jordan invited the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to deploy to one of its air bases. Operating from there allowed the contingent to prepare cargo, coordinate with other countries and fly into the tightly managed airspace used for humanitarian deliveries over Gaza.

The cargo combined medical supplies from Singapore's Ministry of Health with food contributed by local nongovernmental organisations. The Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre consolidated the supplies before departure, helping government agencies and charities prepare consignments for available flight windows.

Singapore first conducted an airdrop into Gaza on March 20, 2024, after land routes repeatedly closed or slowed. The August operation again used aircraft to bring relief into an area where fighting, damaged infrastructure and restrictions on movement made deliveries by road difficult. Each flight required crews to balance the urgency of getting supplies to civilians with the risks of releasing heavy cargo over a densely populated area affected by war.

Medical Supplies, Food and Community Donations

The ninth tranche brought together government medical assistance and food donations from four Singapore charities: Humanity Matters, Caritas Humanitarian Aid and Relief Initiatives Singapore, Mercy Relief, and Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation.

These organisations have managed fundraising, procurement and packaging since the conflict escalated. Working with the Changi coordination centre, they channelled donations into standardised packages suitable for rigging and aerial delivery. That preparation connects contributions made in Singapore with the practical requirements of transporting and releasing cargo from an aircraft.

Medical consignments for missions of this kind typically include dressings, antibiotics, pain relief, trauma kits and basic equipment. Such items are intended to help stabilise injuries and treat common illnesses that spread or become harder to manage when infrastructure is damaged. Food parcels are generally designed to remain usable without refrigeration and to be easy to consume, with examples including rice, canned goods, pulses and nutrition packs.

The government and charity contributions formed part of a longer relief effort. Since October 2023, the nine tranches of assistance from Singapore and Singaporeans have been valued at more than S$22 million. The continued contributions reflected sustained public support for humanitarian relief.

The August flights delivered that support in a form shaped by the aircraft and its mission. Supplies had to be packaged, protected, weighed and secured so that they could withstand handling, flight and descent by parachute. The work before takeoff was therefore an essential part of getting usable aid to people on the ground.

Preparing a Pallet Takes More Than a Flight

Army aerial cargo riggers and RSAF loadmasters carried out separate stages of preparation and checking before each release. The team described a rigorous process that typically required up to a full day of preparation for a flight.

Riggers assembled loads with parachutes, static lines and protective padding, then inspected the parachute systems and tiedowns. Loadmasters weighed and balanced each pallet, calculated the order of release and checked that straps and containers met safety requirements. RSAF loadmasters also conducted independent checks of the prepared loads.

Detailed manifests recorded every pallet. Inside the C-130, the cargo layout had to support the correct release sequence over the drop zone. The arrangement mattered both for the aircraft's balance and for the order in which supplies would leave its ramp.

Pilots, navigators and flight engineers planned the release at a designated altitude and speed. They calculated how wind and terrain could affect the descent, while mission planning meetings refined navigation waypoints, release settings and the cargo sequence. Crews verified those details again during checks before takeoff.

Singapore's personnel also passed practical lessons to younger colleagues. Army and RSAF members described mentorship covering everything from building and padding a pallet to the final checks before permission to release it. Their attention to detail was tied directly to the people waiting below: the cargo needed to arrive safely and remain useful after landing.

Coordinating Flights in Crowded Airspace

Singaporean personnel met daily with the Jordanian air force and other foreign air forces to coordinate routes, altitudes and timings. This process, known as deconfliction, keeps aircraft from coming too close to one another and helps crews use clear, consistent radio calls.

Multiple countries could be operating within the same humanitarian flight window. Every aircraft needed a route into and out of the area, with timing shaped by regional authorities. Weather updates were another part of the daily planning, especially wind conditions at the altitude used for releases. Even a small wind change could carry a pallet away from its intended landing area.

Gaza presented a further challenge: there were no controllers on the ground guiding the pilots with smoke or signal panels, as can happen during training. Aircrews had to assess the drop zone from above, check for people and buildings, and respond to changing visibility, wind and surrounding air traffic.

Lieutenant Colonel C. Teeneshwaran, the air mission commander and commanding officer in 122 Squadron, described dynamic airspace that required constant coordination. Flight plans, altitudes and timing segments had to align with those of partner aircraft to keep the air lanes clear.

Crews in the cockpit and ramp area rehearsed responses to changing conditions. Those included a shift in the wind or a need to delay a release by seconds to keep a bundle away from structures. The planning aimed to give each load the best chance of landing in an identified area clear of buildings and people.

Jordan Provides the Base for a Shared Effort

The RSAF aircraft deployed from Paya Lebar Air Base to a Jordanian air base, where Singaporean personnel worked alongside counterparts from several countries. Jordan's invitation, staging support and participation in planning made the operation possible.

Leaders from Singapore's defence ministry and the Office of the Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs attended a departure event to thank the charities and the contingent. During the deployment, Singapore officials also met senior Jordanian commanders to express appreciation for Jordan's role in supporting the air corridor and planning meetings.

On one mission day, seven countries, including Singapore, participated in a joint airdrop that released 127 packages over Gaza. Such flights were often organised in clusters to make use of available windows and simplify coordination with regional authorities.

The five sorties completed by Singapore's C-130 fitted the planning tempo common to deployments of this kind. After the final delivery and checks following the mission, the aircraft and crew returned home safely.

The operation depended on cooperation at several points: Singapore agencies and charities assembled the aid, Jordan provided a base and coordination support, and military crews from different countries shared the airspace. A delay or change in one part of that chain could require adjustments elsewhere before another flight could proceed.

Heat, Training and Purpose Behind the Numbers

First Sergeant Muhammad Faisal Sharudin, an aerial cargo rigger, worked on the flight line in Jordan while his fiancee managed their wedding preparations in Singapore. He described being nervous before deployment, then gaining confidence from his training and the knowledge that each safe drop could help families in Gaza.

Midday temperatures near 45 degrees Celsius added to the physical demands of preparing cargo. His team followed a strict routine of rest and hydration to maintain performance and safety while working in the heat.

The conditions required sustained concentration. Riggers and loadmasters had to complete careful physical work, while aircrews prepared to fly near an active conflict zone. Singapore's leaders and senior officers stressed both the urgency of the relief effort and the precision required for each release.

Chief of Air Force Major General Kelvin Fan thanked the servicemen and women, defence partners, families, the Changi coordination centre and participating charities. He described the outcome as evidence of operational readiness and the ability to carry out demanding operations at short notice, while recognising the commitment and support behind the deployment.

The experience also gave younger personnel an opportunity to learn from more experienced colleagues. For the teams preparing and releasing the loads, discipline and mentorship were connected to a practical humanitarian purpose: helping ensure that supplies reached the ground safely.

Why Airdrops Help, and Where Their Limits Lie

Aircraft can carry relief into places where roads are blocked, damaged or too dangerous for a convoy. Airdrops can reach isolated communities, bypass bottlenecks at crossings and provide food or medical supplies to people who have been cut off for days while larger deliveries are being restored.

A C-130 pallet, however, carries far less than a truck. Releasing cargo from altitude also makes its final position harder to control, especially in high winds or built up areas. Crowds may rush towards falling bundles or gather too quickly in a landing area, creating danger as heavy containers and parachutes descend.

Flights are intermittent, and each requires a limited window of airspace access and carefully planned routing. Humanitarian organisations therefore describe airdrops as a complement to land deliveries. Sustained access by road is needed to move relief at a larger scale.

Singapore's mission focused on identified release areas, standardised packages and detailed planning before each flight. Crews repeatedly reviewed contingencies to improve the chances that bundles would land away from structures and that people would be clear of the descent path.

Continued fighting, shifting front lines and damaged infrastructure complicated those efforts. During the same period as the airdrops in the middle of August, Israel's military announced separate operations in northern Gaza. Conditions on the ground could change between the time a flight was planned and the moment its cargo was released.

Relief Still Has to Reach Families After Landing

A pallet reaching the ground is one stage in a longer delivery process. In a standard humanitarian airdrop, local partners or international agencies retrieve the packages, move them to safer distribution points and match the supplies with the needs of nearby communities.

Damaged roads, disrupted communications and restrictions on movement can make that work difficult. Planning teams therefore try to choose release areas that are accessible and as secure as conditions allow. Singapore's role in the August mission centred on precise delivery, safe operations and coordination with partners tasked with moving and distributing the aid after it landed.

Military coordination continues to matter during this process. Communication among forces managing the airspace reduces the risk of aircraft coming too close together, while planning for release locations and conditions helps reduce the chance of supplies drifting into dangerous areas.

Relief groups continued to press for sustained access by road at scale. Governments and militaries kept air corridors available when ground routes narrowed, using airdrops to bridge gaps in access rather than provide a continuous flow of supplies.

From the First Drop to the Ninth Aid Tranche

Singapore's first airdrop in March 2024 established processes that were used again in August 2025. The second operation involved more sorties, greater exposure to the planning system in Jordan and closer integration with foreign crews flying similar missions.

• October 2023: The period from which Singapore counted the nine tranches of assistance, eventually valued at more than S$22 million.
• March 20, 2024: Singapore carried out its first airdrop into Gaza after land routes repeatedly closed or slowed.
• August 12 to 25, 2025: The second airdrop operation delivered 14.9 tonnes of aid through five C-130 sorties from Jordan.

Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad attended the deployment ceremony in Singapore and met Jordanian leaders during the mission period. He said the SAF stood ready to support humanitarian assistance into Gaza, praised the professionalism and commitment behind the operation, and thanked the wider community for rallying to help civilians in need.

Acting Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs Associate Professor Faishal Ibrahim thanked the Muslim community and Singaporeans for their generosity. He connected individual donations with support for people facing crisis.

Every act of giving is a light in the darkness for someone in need.

Faishal encouraged continued support for humanitarian initiatives and prayers for Gaza. His message reflected the link between contributions at home and the mission abroad, where military personnel, government agencies, charities and international partners worked to turn those donations into deliveries.

Key Points

• Singapore delivered 14.9 tonnes of aid into Gaza between August 12 and 25, 2025, through five C-130 sorties from Jordan.
• The mission involved 58 personnel and was Singapore's second Gaza airdrop operation.
• Medical supplies came from the Ministry of Health, while four Singapore charities contributed food.
• The deployment formed the ninth tranche of assistance since October 2023, with the nine tranches valued at more than S$22 million.
• Army riggers, RSAF loadmasters and aircrews prepared and checked cargo while coordinating daily with Jordan and other foreign air forces.
• Personnel faced temperatures near 45 degrees Celsius, changing winds and demanding airspace conditions.
• Airdrops helped bridge gaps in access, while sustained road deliveries remained necessary to move aid at scale.
• The aircraft and crew returned safely to Singapore after completing the operation.