Singapore is set to receive the first of its 20 F-35 fighter aircraft at the end of next year, marking an important step in the modernization of the city-state’s air force, according to the Singaporean Ministry of Defense.
In a statement on Friday, the Ministry said that procurement of the fifth-generation stealth aircraft was part of the city-state’s “long-term strategy to build up the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s future fighter fleet, which will comprise a diversified fleet of F-35As, F-35Bs and F-15SGs.” It said that these will help “meet our operational requirements and maintain a strong fighter fleet to safeguard Singapore’s skies.”
The statement was released after Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing visited Lockheed Martin’s F-35 factory in Fort Worth, Texas, where Singapore’s F-35s will be built. After signing the wing of RSAF’s first F-35, which is currently under construction, Chan, who was accompanied by air force chief Maj.-Gen. Kelvin Fan, told his American partners that the F-35 deal was “one step in a long journey that we will take together with Lockheed Martin, our partners in the U.S. Government, the U.S. Air Force, and the community in Ebbing.”
This is a reference to Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where the RSAF’s future F-35 fighter training will take place, according to the Straits Times.
Despite its long and amply documented history of design and production flaws, the F-35A boasts an impressive set of features, in particular, its short take-off and vertical landing capability, which allows the jets to take off in restricted spaces and to hover and land like a helicopter.
Singapore first announced its desire to purchase F-35A fighters in 2019, intending them as a replacement for Singapore’s fleet of ageing F-16s, the first of which were purchased in the mid-1980s. In 2023, the city-state then exercised its option to purchase an additional eight F-35As, bringing the total value of the deal to an estimated $2.75 billion, according to U.S. government estimates. This decision followed a “full evaluation” of the F-35, which presumably addressed the host of problems that have dogged the F-35 program, and did so to the RSAF’s satisfaction.
In February 2023, Chan’s predecessor Ng Eng Hen announced that these 12 F-35As would be joined by another eight F-35A fighters. Ng said that the F-35A, which has greater endurance and the capacity to carry heavier payloads, would “complement” the short take-off and vertical landing capability of the F-35B. The eight F-35As are slated for delivery by 2030.
The influx of new state-of-the-art aircraft over the remainder of the decade will complete the “progressive drawdown” of the RSAF’s F-16 fleet. The short take-off and vertical landing capability will also mark a significant upgrade in capability for the air force, helping the Singapore Armed Forces sustain its potent deterrent at a time of growing regional and global friction. The deal also reflects the mutual trust that characterizes the defense partnership between Singapore and the U.S., which, despite never being sealed by a formal security alliance, is among the most significant that the U.S. has with any nation in Southeast Asia.
During his four-day visit to the U.S., his first since taking up his post last year, Chan also met with U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, with whom he “reaffirmed the excellent and longstanding bilateral defense relationship, and mutually beneficial partnership between Singapore and the U.S.,” as per the Singaporean Defense Ministry.
Chan also announced plans to purchase four Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft in a bid to “refresh” its maritime security capabilities. These are intended to replace RSAF’s fleet of five Fokker 50 maritime patrol aircraft, which have been in service since 1993.
Hegseth and Chan also discussed possible efforts to “expand U.S. asset rotations in Singapore in line with the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding United States Use of Facilities in Singapore.”