NDP 2025: What it'll take to pull off the Red Lions and naval divers' first-ever Jump of Unity

CNA

3 days ago

SINGAPORE: Naval diver Lim Chee Seng still remembers clearly the day he performed a free fall jump at the 2018 National Day Parade.
'From above, I can see the bay is filled with people dressed in white and red,' said the First Warrant Officer in the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN) Naval Diving Unit.
'It made me very proud to be a Singaporean.'
Seven years since he and other naval divers first joined the famed Red Lions in an NDP jump, the elite force is returning to mark Singapore's 60th birthday with a coordinated display called the Jump of Unity.
It will be the first time both naval divers and Red Lions - chiefly commandos - will parachute into two different locations – the Marina Bay and Padang, respectively. Following the jumps, the two teams will perform a combined salute.
'The keyword here is unity,' said 1WO Lim, who is also team lead. He added that the precise coordination to synchronise their actions for the combined salute was one of their 'greatest challenges'.
At this year's NDP, seven naval divers will demonstrate a free fall jump used in actual operations.
The team will be transported by the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) H225M Medium Life Helicopter, and exit sequentially at 6,000 ft above ground.
The divers will then deploy their parachutes at about 5,000 ft, and land in the water in front of the Esplanade at Marina Bay.
Once they enter the water in quick succession, they must remove their parachutes, make their way to a recovery platform, and move to the salute point.
Their timing must be 'tight and precise", said 1WO Lim, 41.
PREPARING FOR THE JUMP
1WO Lim was speaking to the media at iFly Singapore in late June, ahead of the parade on Aug 9.
The wind tunnel facility at iFly is where naval divers and Red Lions train for the free fall phase – the time between exiting the aircraft and deploying their parachutes.
The main objective is to practise their stability and mobility drills, and to give them the confidence for execution, said 1WO Lim.
He added that the iFly facility was 'as close as it gets' to being in the air. 'Whatever you can do here, more than likely you will be able to execute it seamlessly in the air.'
To become fully-fledged parachutists, the soldiers undergo training sessions both locally and overseas. This includes a three-week basic airborne course and a month-long military freefall course, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said.
Apart from vertical wind tunnel training, the trainees also execute live training jumps and train with a virtual reality parachute flight simulator.
Then there is the mental preparation bit, which 1WO Lim emphasises for his team before physical rehearsals.
The team will close their eyes while 1WO Lim narrates the process of the jump, and verbally guides them on what they might feel and see.
'Once the mental rehearsal is done, I'll ask the whole team what is one thing that they want to improve for the upcoming jump,' he said. 'So with communication, we understand what everybody wants to do better this round.'
For the Red Lions' jump this year, they will be transported by the RSAF's C-130 Hercules aircraft, and exit at 10,000 ft above ground.
They will then link up in their traditional ring formation and execute the crowd favourite "bomb burst" move to take turns to land on the Padang.
Red Lions team lead and instructor, Master Warrant Officer Chew Eng Seng, said it was always challenging for the jumpers to exit the aircraft together and form a ring.
Asked about the hard landing of a Red Lion at NDP 2022, MWO Chew stressed that safety was the 'top priority'.
'Before every jump, we have to make sure that all the safety requirements are met from the weather, visibility and the condition of the servicemen,' said the 50-year-old.
Following the incident, a review panel looked into the training and safety management measures of the Red Lions. The training programme was updated to include a component which closely simulates landing zone conditions and includes overseas training, to further hone the Red Lions' skills.
The Red Lions team this year comprises seven jumpers, including one female, said MWO Chew. All team members have an average of 500 to 1,000 jumps each, and MWO Chew himself clocking over 1,000.
Although it is his fifth time doing so at an NDP, this year's jump is significant as it is SG60, said MWO Chew.
He added that the most exciting part is when they land and can hear - and feel - the cheers of the spectators.
'We hope that we can put up a good show in front of the nation on the ninth of August,' he said. 'Get ready for us.'