 In its new incarnation, No. 79 Squadron continued the air defence and training duties for which No. 3 Squadron had been responsible at Butterworth. It participated in routine training exercises in Southeast Asia, which included making regular deployments to Paya Lebar Air Base in Singapore to train with the Republic of Singapore Air Force. In May 1987 the squadron deployed to Clarke Air Force Base in the Philippines to participate in the annual Cope Thunder exercise with USAF units. It also exercised with No. 77 Squadron's new F / A-18 Hornets in April 1988 when that unit visited Butterworth. The Caribou transport was used to support Australian Army units in Malaysia and also flew training sorties to neighbouring countries.
