Singapore's Air Force Adds Fourth American Fighter Class to its Fleet; F-35A Comes to Southeast Asia for Performance Evaluation

Following reports that Singapore’s armed forces were considering options to replace the Air Force’s fleet of F-16C Fighting Falcons, currently the most numerous fighter class deployed by the service alongside smaller numbers of elite F-15SG twin engine strike fighters and F-5E light fighters, plans have been announced to acquire small numbers of Lockheed Martin F-35A combat jets for evaluation. Much as the F-16C was developed as an unspecialised multirole single engine light platform for the U.S. Air Force, the F-35A was developed for a near identical role but integrating next generation capabilities. This marked the second time that a southeast Asian state had shown considerable interest in a fifth generation fighter design, with Vietnam reportedly planning acquisition of the Russian Su-57 from the mid 2020s. Singapore is set to become the first and very likely the largest operator of combat jets of this generation in the region.

With a number of reports have consistently indicated that the F-35A has faced a number of performance difficulties, including those from leading U.S. officials and those from allied states such as Israel, the Singaporean Air Force intends to acquire only a very small number of the stealth fighters with the intention of evaluating their performance to ascertain whether they are the “most suitable replacement” for the F-16. This means that the F-35 has not been selected as Singapore’s definite choice to upgrade its fighter fleet, and even if the F-35A is eventually chosen it is likely that the country will opt for more capable variants from later blocks which will begin to become available once the platform enters full mass production. Notably unlike Israel, which relies heavily on U.S. aid for its defence, or F-35 partner states in NATO, Australia and Japan which have a great deal invested in contributing to the jet’s manufacture and maintenance, Singapore retains considerable room to turn away from the F-35 in favour of an alternative fighter incase the F-35A units delivered fail to meet performance requirements.