Eyes fleet replacement for the F-16
Singapore's defence minister said on Friday that Lockheed Martin Corp's <LMT.N> F-35 fighter jets were the most suitable replacement for the country's F-16 fleet, and it planned to initially buy a few for evaluation.
With Southeast Asia's largest defence budget, the wealthy city-state is a key prize for global arms companies as it looks to invest in new technology and upgrade its equipment. Singapore's fleet of around 60 F-16 jets, which first entered service in 1998, will be retired soon after 2030.
"They (defence agencies) have decided that the F-35 would be the most suitable replacement fighter," Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post. "We want to procure a few planes first, to fully evaluate the capabilities of the F-35 before deciding on the acquisition of a full fleet."
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Will the F-35 beat out ‘the usual suspects’ in Singapore’s search for F-16 replacement?
Singapore will decide in the next few months on a new fighter to replace its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16 multirole fighters, with the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter from the same manufacturer seen as the prime candidate.
In an interview with media ahead of the southeast Asian island nation’s Armed Forces Day, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said that despite ongoing upgrades, the F-16s face obsolescence beyond 2030. He added the country will make a definitive decision on its replacement in the next few months based on interoperability with Singapore’s current systems and platforms as well as the price. Ng refused to be drawn into further details as to which fighter platforms Singapore is looking at, only saying that the BAE Systems Typhoon, the F-35, Russia’s Sukhois, and Chinese-made stealth fighters are “the usual suspects that you have to look at” when air forces are choosing a new combat platform.
However, Singapore has been evaluating the F-35 since 2013 and Ng had previously suggested that the type was suited to be the replacement for Singapore’s F-16s. Earlier reports suggested Singapore is keen on acquiring the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variant, with the B-model’s STOVL capability seen as useful for Singapore, whose main island has an area of a mere 277 square miles and whose air bases are seen as vulnerable to a first strike.
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F-35: How the fifth-generation fighter jet can take RSAF to the next level
The F-35 hides all its fuel and weapons inside its skin of stealth. (Photo: Lockheed Martin/Angel DelCueto)
At the end of a highly sensitive assembly line, in the nave of an enormous aviation paint shop, lay a hulking lump of metal grey aluminium and titanium.
It was a war machine that showed some qualities of an expensive sports car, with sleek lines, perfect symmetry and a matte finish. But looks didn't mask the fact that this fighter jet is designed to be ultra deadly.
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is so advanced, it can “talk” to other aircraft, see the enemy earlier and avoid being seen better than ever before. It can hunt discreetly in packs or be the all-seeing eye in the sky.
related: S'pore identifies F-35 fighter jet to replace F-16s, expects to buy ‘small number’
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What to make of Singapore’s move to buy F-35 fighter jets
US Air Force F-16 (top) and F-35 fighter jets participate in a training mission in South Korea. Will the F-35 replace the Republic of Singapore Air Force's F-16s?
Singapore announced on Friday (Jan 18) that it would buy a "small number" of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for "a full evaluation of their capabilities and suitability before deciding on a full fleet".
If the sparse 127-word Ministry of Defence (Mindef) statement spread over two paragraphs left you with more questions than answers, you are in good company.
Two key questions remain:
- First, is the Lockheed-Martin F-35 — the most advanced warplane that friends of the United States can buy — the chosen one that will replace Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) F-16s? It is a critical decision as single and double-seat variants of the F-16 are currently the most numerous fighter type in the RSAF. Literature touting the superiority of the new generation multi-role F-35 inevitably ends up downplaying capabilities of F-16s that were once Lockheed's best-selling fighter jet.
- Second, what is the RSAF's Plan B if the F-35 fails the evaluation?
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The F-35 JSF Super Maneuverability
Senior defense officials from Singapore got to see U.S. Marine Corps F-35 fighter jets in action on Tuesday at the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona as the Asian country mulls buying the Lockheed Martin Corp planes, a base spokeswoman said.
The aircraft flew to Luke Air Force Base, a pilot-training center near Phoenix, from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, which is about 175 miles (280 km) away. Yuma is home to the first operational squadron of F-35 fighter jets, said First Lieutenant Candice Dillitte, a spokeswoman for the Arizona base. The Singapore officials visited the base as part of Forging Sabre, a Singapore armed forces exercise taking place at Luke and at a nearby training range, according to a news release.
Singapore is considering purchasing F-35s in the future, but has not yet committed to an order or the timetable for when it may come. The U.S. government has already approved a letter of agreement for Singapore's possible F-35 orders, which had been expected months ago.
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The J-31 Vs The F-35 Stealth Fighter
Let’s do a quick comparision between the J-31 and F-35 :
- The J-31 has a conventional fuselage design with two large canted trapezoidal tailfins similar to the F-22A while the F-35 has a pair of smaller outward-angled tailfins similar to the J-20. Canted tailfins contribute to less weight and reduce radar cross section.
- Both the J-31 and F-35 have diverterless supersonic inlet which helps to do away with complex and heavy internal mechanical systems.
- The F-35 has a more powerful turbofan engine than the J-31, but the J-31 has two engines while F-35 has one. F-35's reliance on a single engine as opposed to the J-31's twin-engine configuration raises safety issue in the event of engine failure. The J-31 will be equipped with two WS-19 turbofans and will have higher overall thrust than the single Pratt & Whitney F-135.
The advantage that the J-31 has over the F-35 is the relatively more affordable price and the absence of political strings attached with arms purchase. Moreover the JF-17 tech-transfer model with Pakistan could be emulated to potential client of the J-31 and this is an attractive option considering that it will also create jobs and add value to client countries’ manufacturing and technology base.
The Israeli Air Force had recently received its first two F-35I “Adir” Lightning II stealth fighters. The introduction of a Fifth-Gen fighter jet in the region will prompted other countries in the Middle East to source for Fifth-Gen fighter jets as well, and this provide immense opportunity for China to introduce the J-31/FC-31 to potential clients such as Iran, Iraq, Syria,Saudi Arabia and other gulf-state countries. It was rumoured that the second J-31 prototype has been testing with modified fuselage (picture below) and will be revealed soon to the public.
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