Singapore is expected to announce within the coming days its plans to buy the first 12 of some 75 of the stealthy Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft. It is expected to submit a “letter of request” soon for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, said two U.S. government officials who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The B version is a STOVL variant similar to those destined for the United States Marine Corp (USMC). The latter is acquiring the F-35B as a replacement to the AV-8B Harrier II STOVL aircraft which remains till this day the backbone of its aviation branch.
LM F-35B Lightning II
Given the fact that Singapore is an island nation with limited land, the F-35B makes great sense for its ability to operate from limited areas. The procurement of the F-35B also allows the RSAF to work closely with the US Marines as well as with the US Navy’s F-35Cs operating from the aircraft carriers.
With this recent development, there will be three Asian-Australasian operators in this region namely the RAAF with 50 to 100 Australian F-35As, Japan’s JASDF with 42 F-35A and the RSAF with the expected 75 F-35Bs in the pipeline.
Singapore’s defence minister, Ng Eng Hen, said on March 12, the air force “has identified the F-35 as a suitable aircraft to further modernise our fighter fleet”.
“Our F-5s are nearing the end of their operational life and our F-16s are at their mid-way mark,” he said in parliament. “We are now in the final stages of evaluating the F-35.”
Ng gave no timeline but said the defence ministry “will have to be satisfied that this state-of-the-art multi-role fighter meets our long-term needs, is on track to be operationally capable and, most importantly, is a cost-effective platform.”
Singapore’s RSAF now has 24 F-15SGs, 20 F-16Cs and 40 F-16Ds, 28 F-5Ss and nine F-5Ts, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. It also has 19 AH-64D Apache attack helicopters among its other assorted aircraft.
For more than 11 years, Lockheed Martin has been promoting the state of the art F-35 Lightning II to the RSAF. Mock up of the aircraft has been without fail, attended Asian Aerospace and Singapore Airshow exhibition since 2002. (here)
The B version is a STOVL variant similar to those destined for the United States Marine Corp (USMC). The latter is acquiring the F-35B as a replacement to the AV-8B Harrier II STOVL aircraft which remains till this day the backbone of its aviation branch.
LM F-35B Lightning II
Given the fact that Singapore is an island nation with limited land, the F-35B makes great sense for its ability to operate from limited areas. The procurement of the F-35B also allows the RSAF to work closely with the US Marines as well as with the US Navy’s F-35Cs operating from the aircraft carriers.
With this recent development, there will be three Asian-Australasian operators in this region namely the RAAF with 50 to 100 Australian F-35As, Japan’s JASDF with 42 F-35A and the RSAF with the expected 75 F-35Bs in the pipeline.
Singapore’s defence minister, Ng Eng Hen, said on March 12, the air force “has identified the F-35 as a suitable aircraft to further modernise our fighter fleet”.
“Our F-5s are nearing the end of their operational life and our F-16s are at their mid-way mark,” he said in parliament. “We are now in the final stages of evaluating the F-35.”
Ng gave no timeline but said the defence ministry “will have to be satisfied that this state-of-the-art multi-role fighter meets our long-term needs, is on track to be operationally capable and, most importantly, is a cost-effective platform.”
Singapore’s RSAF now has 24 F-15SGs, 20 F-16Cs and 40 F-16Ds, 28 F-5Ss and nine F-5Ts, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. It also has 19 AH-64D Apache attack helicopters among its other assorted aircraft.
For more than 11 years, Lockheed Martin has been promoting the state of the art F-35 Lightning II to the RSAF. Mock up of the aircraft has been without fail, attended Asian Aerospace and Singapore Airshow exhibition since 2002. (here)
source Malaysia Flying Herald
