Singapore will acquire a second variant of the Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter to complement the F-35Bs the southeast Asian island nation has already ordered, Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen has announced.
Speaking in Singapore’s parliament during the debate on the budget of the defence ministry on 28 February, Ng said that eight F-35As will be acquired for the Republic of Singapore Air Force, to add to the 12 F-35Bs previously ordered.
He added that Singapore is accelerating its F-35 buy to capitalise on what he called a “window of opportunity” as the price of the fifth-generation stealth fighter has become competitive, although he acknowledged that the country may have to “deprioritise” other – unnamed - projects in favour of acquiring this latest batch of aircraft.
Singapore typically spreads its defence acquisitions into small batches spread over several years, to avoid unsettling its neighbours with large buys and to avoid what Ng has previously called “peaks and troughs” in defence spending.
The F-35A is the Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) variant of the F-35 and is the most common variant used by the type’s operators (which includes Australia), and Ng noted that it has greater payload capacity and range compared to the F-35B.
The Short Take Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) F-35B can however take off without needing long runways and land vertically, a capability which Singapore, whose main island measures roughly 770 square kilometres, sees as vital for its defence.
The F-35s will replace the RSAF’s fleet 60 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D/D+ Fighting Falcon multirole fighters, which entered service from 1998 and are due to be drawn down progressively from the mid-2030s onwards.
This will leave the Singapore operating the F-35A, F-35B and the Boeing F-15SG Eagle multirole fighter, with Ng noting that the unique capabilities of the two F-35 variants would provider “operational flexibility” for the RSAF.
It will also mean that Singapore will join Italy and Japan in operating both the F-35A and F-35B. The US also operates the F-35B alongside the larger F-35C on its aircraft carriers.
Singapore has announced a defence budget of A$23.04 billion for the coming financial year. This represents a 2.5 per cent increase compared the previous year, although its defence spending has remained consistent at around 3 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product, and Ng says that the trend is expected to continue over the next decade.
He noted that keeping Singapore’s defence spending consistent has allowed its “platforms and capabilities to mature over the necessary timeline to produce results to enhance synergy and reaps efficiencies."
Despite its small size, Singapore is regarded to have one of the most advanced militaries in Asia. The country is strategically located between the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca, along the busy maritime trade routes that connect East Asia to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Its economy is therefore highly dependent on the maritime trade, with its port one of the busiest in the world and acting as a vital transshipment hub. However, its strategic location and small size means it sees itself as highly vulnerable to security threats and lacks the strategic depth that larger countries have.