Pulau Sudong reclamation to relocate noisy RSAF training away from mainland?

An article by Alert 5, a military aviation news site, has insightful details behind the ongoing Pulau Sudong reclamation.

From Port Marine Notice No. 133 of 2025, dated 08 Oct 2025

The article suggests extending the existing Pulau Sudong runway to 3 km, will enable the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) to conduct noisy F-35B landing training at the offshore location. Noise from F-35B short take-off and vertical-landing fighter aircraft has already prompted Japan to relocate training to remote sites. The first of Singapore's F-35s will arrive in Tengah airbase in 2029. The Sudong reclamation is scheduled for completion by 2028.

The Sudong extention will also allow other RSAF fixed-wing aircraft to conduct practice landings that are presently carried out at Tengah and Paya Lebar airbases, both surrounded by residential neighborhoods which have increasingly complained about jet noise. 

The current 2km runway at Pulau Sudong functions primarily as an emergency landing point for fighter aircraft. However, the limited runway length means that fighter aircraft landing there in an emergency may require the use of Mobile Aircraft Arrestor Systems installed on both ends of the runway to stop the aircraft in time. The extended 3km runway will provide emergency landing capability for fighters and larger aircraft types with a longer distance for aircraft to decelerate safely, negating the need to deploy the arrestor systems in most situations.

It also provides operational flexibility as the RSAF manages the transition associated with Paya Lebar’s eventual decommissioning after 2030 and Tengah’s expansion.

The article also mentioned our Jul 2024 survey of Terumbu Palat which likely to be lost in the reclamation.

The team encounter corals and a variety of marine life, including the endangered Merten's carpet anemone. More in this blog post of their survey in Jul 2024.

The survey team has been keeping an eye on the situation at the Sudong work site and possible impacts on shores nearby.

In Apr 2024, we checked up on Terumbu Bemban before any signs of work were visible on Pulau Sudong - capturing a 'before' snapshot if you will. In Jun 2025, we made a quick detour after our survey of Terumbu Hantu to have a look at the reclamation site. From a distance, it seems works had started, only on Pulau Sudong itself. The white sandy strip on the foreground is Terumbu Menalung, which we hope to check out soon.

Photo by Loh Kok Sheng

In Jul 2025, we saw many round holes dug out at intervals across the middle of Terumbu Raya. They were uniform in size about 40cm in diameter and about 15cm deep. Not sure if they are related to the Sudong reclamation. We saw the same kind of holes on Beting Bemban Besar which we also surveyed Jul 2025. We continued to see signs of work on Sudong in the distance.

In Aug 2025, we saw a large jack-up rig very close to western Terumbu Bemban - these are usually used for soil investigation. On Pulau Sudong itself, there were large heavy earth-moving vehicles on the seawall. We also saw a total of 3 propped up poles on Terumbu Bemban, arrayed along the length of western Terumbu Bemban. Probably part of the Sudong reclamation, although outside the work site designated in Port Marine Notices.

During our survey of Beting Bemban Besar in Oct 2025, at the ongoing Pulau Sudong reclamation, we saw a large pile of sand and many more large equipment compared to our survey of Terumbu Bemban in Aug 2025. The rest of the team saw people putting in red stakes along the north western edge of the reef flat - not sure why as they didn't get a chance to talk to any of them. Photo by Marcus Ng of a hard-hatter worker walking the shore with the reclamation works on the horizon, and of the workers going back onto their boat (SR 3521A - listed as one of the working boats for the project). Photos by Marcus and Tammy of the red stakes next to some large coral colonies.

The latest Port Marine Notice No. 133 of 2025, dated 08 Oct 2025 indicates work is intensifying "The works involve the installation of navigational buoys, removal of metallic debris, demolition of abandoned jetty, dredging works, installation of marine staging platforms for soil instrumentation, infilling works, marine vibrocompaction, stone revetment works, and jetty construction to facilitate the reclamation and jetty construction works at Pulau Sudong".

We will continue to monitor.