Six F-15 fighter jets will fly in formation over eight hospitals during this year's National Day Parade, to pay tribute to Singapore's frontline healthcare staff and essential workers.

Called the Roar of Unity, the hospitals that the jets will fly over are Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Sengkang General Hospital, Changi General Hospital, Khoo Teck Puat General Hospital, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, National University Hospital, Alexandra Hospital and Singapore General Hospital.

Afterwards, the jets will also make three additional passes over the heartlands of Singapore to "bring" the Roar of Unity to Singaporeans at home, NDP2020's Flying Display Marshal, Lieutenant Colonel Tan Boon Hong further added.

Event will last for about 30 minutes

The flyover will begin at 10.45 over the Padang and is expected to last for a total of 30 minutes.

The total distance to be covered is about 170 nautical miles or nearly 315km, with the jets flying at a height of between 1500 to 2500 feet (457m to 762m).

With regard to whether the height of the buildings in the Central Business District (CBD) was a concern, Tan added that there was "sufficient separation" between the lowest jet and the tallest part of the buildings.

In addition, the height of the CBD's buildings have also been factored into the route of the helicopters involved in the state flag fly-past, such that the aircraft are flying at a distance from the buildings, with a route away from the buildings planned in the event that they need to do so.

Tan highlighted that for previous NDPs held at the Padang and Floating Platform, the event consisted of the jets simply flying over the venue before returning to Paya Lebar Air Base -- a distance of six nautical miles (11km).

Temporary restricted areas to be expanded during flyover

As such, this also means that the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will be expanding the Temporary Restricted Area over various parts of Singapore for the flyover on August 9.

A press release by the CAAS stated that this means the conduct of all aerial activities including kite-flying, hoisting of captive balloons and flying of unmanned aircraft including drones into and within the temporary Restricted Area, unless authorised by CAAS, is strictly prohibited.

The prohibition will last from 8.55am to 11.30am and covers the following areas:

Planning for the flyover began as far back as end-2019

Planning of the current iteration of NDP2020 began as far back as end-2019 when the possibility of a pandemic emerged, Tan added.

The executive committee for NDP2020 "started to think, plan and put on the table...the various options available to us," Tan stated, eventually settling on the current "modality", given that the flyover can still be brought to Singaporeans, even if the country is still in the state of the Circuit Breaker.

Actual training for the pilots however, only began in end-April in the South China Sea, which eventually culminated in rehearsals in June within Singapore.

Top images from NDP2020 committee