28/02/2024

Singapore to acquire eight additional F-35A

Singapore to buy eight F-35A fighter jets as defence spending inches up

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) will buy eight F-35A jets, continuing its build-up of a “next-generation” force to serve the country’s security needs.

The aircraft are expected to be delivered around 2030, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said during the Ministry of Defence’s (MINDEF) budget debate in parliament on Wednesday (Feb 28). This is on top of RSAF’s existing order of 12 F-35 jets of the “B” variant, expanding its full fleet of the fifth-generation US-made fighter aircraft to 20.

Once operational, the F-35 jets will put Singapore’s air force in the “premier league”, he said. The purchase is timed to capitalise on a “window of opportunity”. F-35 prices are now more competitive amid a healthy order pipeline for the jets globally, said Dr Ng, who did not reveal the cost of Singapore’s F-35A purchase.


RSAF to acquire eight F-35A fighter jets, growing its fleet to 20 F-35s

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) will acquire eight F-35A fighter aircraft, complementing the previously announced purchase of 12 F-35Bs, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.

This comes as the fifth-generation stealth planes have been proven on the battlefield, Dr Ng said during the debate on the Ministry of Defence’s (Mindef) budget on Feb 28. The eight F-35As will arrive around 2030. The announcement followed Mindef’s 2023 decision to buy eight F-35Bs, after an initial purchase of four F-35Bs in 2020. The aircraft is made by United States manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

The two F-35 variants have different strengths that will bolster the RSAF’s capabilities, Dr Ng told Parliament. “The F-35As are designed for greater endurance – they have the ability to carry payloads of higher capacity,” he said. “They complement the F-35Bs’ short take-off and vertical landing capability which provides more operational flexibility (in land-scarce Singapore).”

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How are F-35As different from F-35Bs, and what will the new fighters add to Singapore's defence capabilities?
The 8 fifth-generation F-35A stealth fighter jets will grow Spore's F-35 fleet to 20, replacing the ageing F-16s

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Wednesday (Feb 28) announced that Singapore will buy eight F-35A jets, bringing the size of the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) future F-35 fleet to 20 aircraft. 

Speaking at the Ministry of Defence's (MINDEF) budget debate in parliament, Dr Ng prefaced his speech by acknowledging that the "world has become a more dangerous place", referencing the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars. He said a strong Singapore Armed Forces acts as a deterrence against aggression and adventurism. "If Singaporeans will not, or cannot, defend Singapore, there is no backstop," he said.

The latest purchase comes on top of existing orders for 12 F-35 jets of the B variant from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Once all are operational, they will put Singapore's air force in the "premier league", said Dr Ng. The F-35As are expected to be delivered in around 2030 while the F-35B jets ordered in 2020 and 2023 are projected to arrive in 2026 and 2028 respectively.


The F-35A vs. F-35B: What Exactly is the Difference?

Often times, the F-35 has been colloquially referred to as one aircraft in the media, or various versions of the F-35 have been conflated with each other. However, despite their shared “program,” the standard F-35A and the VSTOL F-35B are very different and even feature different fuselages in addition to the additional complexity introduced in the B variant.

Breakdown the differences between the various variants of the jet:
  • The primary difference between the two jets is that the B is less nimble in general. There are a multitude of reasons for this, many of which stem from the necessity for the B to have VSTOL capability.
  • The B variant is considerably “fatter” and bulkier than the F-35A as a result of the integration of the lift fan. This image overlays the fuselage shape of the F-35A over the F-35B, with the B being in orange. As a result of the increased frontal profile, the B has more drag.
  • This makes it slower to accelerate and harder to turn. Practically, the F-35B takes approximately eighteen more seconds to accelerate from Mach 0.8 to Mach 1.2 compared to the F-35A.
  • The increased profile and different weight also affects the potential turn rate, but practically, the F-35B is limited to pulling 7Gs maximum to avoid damage to internal components.
  • The B also has less internal fuel, but this is to be expected as it has additional parts that take up space in the fuselage that the A doesn’t. This limits its effective combat range versus the A, but it still is far superior to the other VSTOL aircraft that preceded it.
  • Weapons wise, there are a few small but important differences between the F-35A and F-35B. The most obvious one is the omission of the gun at the wing root on the F-35B due to the different fuselage shape.
  • Instead, the F-35B can mount a gun pod centerline under the fuselage with a stealthy fairing. This pod can carry an additional forty rounds versus the F-35A’s internal gun and could potentially be more accurate as it’s directly center relative to the HUD and cockpit.
  • The weapons that the F-35B can carry internally are also different than the F-35A. Again, due to different requirements and fuselage shape, the internal weapon bays of the F-35B carry less weight than the F-35A.
  • The biggest implication is that the F-35B cannot carry the massive two-thousand-pound bombs stealthily, in order to employ them they must be hung from the external weapon pylons. Most of the United States’ “bunker buster” bombs weigh that much, so the F-35B would not be able to perform a stealthy mission against a deep hardened target, whereas the F-35A would.
  • The two and ten pylons on the wings also can carry less weight, so the F-35B has less overall munitions capability than the F-35A in that regard as well. However, it’s unlikely that the F-35B would want to operate at its max load in the first place given that it cannot vertically land with the maximum weight. If the F-35B took off with the maximum takeoff weight, it either would have to expend its stores in combat or jettison them before landing.
  • All of these limitations may make it seem like the F-35B once in flight is by and large just a worse version of the F-35A. While this is true, it’s important to consider the roles of the aircraft. The F-35B is far closer in capability to the F-35A than the AV-8B was to the F-16C.


Singapore to acquire 8 more F-35B fighter jets, growing fleet to 12
A United States Marine Corps F-35B on its landing approach. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) will acquire another eight F-35B fighter jets, growing its incoming fleet of the fifth-generation fighters to 12.

Singapore will take delivery of the eight jets from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin "by the end of the decade", Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament on Friday (Feb 24). In 2019, Singapore announced the acquisition of an initial four F-35Bs, which are on track for delivery by 2026. The purchase was worth an estimated US$2.75 billion, according to a US government press release.

That deal included an option for eight more F-35 jets. Dr Ng on Friday said the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) had decided to exercise the option for the F-35B variant after an extensive evaluation. "MINDEF and the SAF have concluded that the F-35 is the best choice to meet our defence needs now and in the future," he told Parliament.


MINDEF TO ACQUIRE EIGHT MORE F-35B FIGHTER AIRCRAFT
RSAF personnel trained with USMC F-35Bs at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma located in Arizona, US

The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) will purchase eight more F-35B Joint Strike Fighters, to be added to its fleet by the end of the decade.

This follows the agreement of purchase of four F-35Bs first, which was inked in 2020. Since then, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) was given exclusive access to information and facilities of the aircraft, allowing them to conduct robust evaluations. "All of these have given us valuable insights (on the F-35Bs)", said Minister of Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, who announced the acquisition of additional jets during his speech at the Committee of Supply debate on the defence budget on 24 Feb.

"MINDEF and the SAF have concluded that the F-35 is the best choice to meet our defence needs now and in the future," said Dr Ng. The F-35Bs will replace the ageing F-16 jets, which have been in service since 1998 and are reaching obsolescence globally from the mid-2030s.


Singapore to acquire eight additional F-35Bs
The Republic of Singapore Air Force's F-15SG and F-16D flying alongside the Royal Australian Air Force's F-35Bs during a multilateral exercise. (Singapore Ministry of Defence)

The Singapore government is exercising the option to acquire eight more short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL)-capable F-35B fighter aircraft, in addition to the initial four airframes of the type that it has already signed for in 2019.

The matter was disclosed by the country's Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen during a parliamentary session on 24 February. He was speaking during a Committee of Supply debate session following the country's budget statement for 2023. Singapore's Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) first announced in March 2019 that it would purchase four F-35Bs, with the option to purchase eight more. The initial airframes will be deployed in the US for training and evaluation when the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) receives them in 2026.

“Following an extensive and robust evaluation, MINDEF will proceed to exercise the option and purchase eight additional F-35Bs, which is necessary to enable the Republic of Singapore Air Force to strengthen its next-generation capabilities as part of the Singapore Armed Forces [SAF] 2040 transformation,” said Ng.


RSAF to acquire 8 more F-35B fighter jets, bringing its fleet to 12
The Defence Ministry decided to exercise the option to purchase eight more of the fifth-generation fighter jets after a full evaluation. PHOTO: ST FILE

The Ministry of Defence will acquire eight more F-35B Joint Strike Fighters, growing its fleet to 12 of the jets by the end of this decade.

With the full complement of these fifth-generation stealth jets, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) will further hone its fighting edge even after it phases out older warplanes that are approaching obsolescence, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Friday.

“This acquisition will support the progressive drawdown of our ageing F-16s, which will retire from the mid-2030s,” he said. “Which means that at steady state, the RSAF will operate the F-35 and F-15 fighter planes, the most advanced in the region.”


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