Singapore in the coming months will have to make a decision to replace its Lockheed Martin F-16 multi-role fighter, with the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
In an interview with the media on Armed Forces and Nation Day, Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said that despite ongoing upgrades, the F-16s are obsolete and will not guarantee the required operation beyond the 2030. The country will have to decide on which platform to orient itself based on its choices both on the interoperability of the weapon system and on the unit price of the aircraft.
Ng declined to go into further details as to which combat platforms Singapore is looking at. He just said that BAE Systems' Typhoon, F-35, Russian Sukhois and Chinese stealth fighters are "the only aircraft you need to consider when choosing a fifth generation fighter."
However, Singapore has always been considering the F-35 since 2013 and Ng had always said that the only worthy replacement for the F16 for Singapore is the F-35. There are many reports that reveal the interest of for the F-35B variant, namely the short landing and vertical landing one, with the STOVL capability of the B model.
However, former F-35 program chief Christopher Bogdan said that Singapore would also ask for information on all three variants of the F-35
Singapore consortiums with a security cooperative in the F-35 program and is believed to have an option for around 40/60 new fighters.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force, or RSAF, currently operates a fleet of 60 F-16C / D Block 52 and Advanced Block 52 aircraft delivered between 1998 and 2005. Twelve aircraft are currently assigned to a US-based training unit. (Luke Air Force Base, Arizona) while the remainder are divided into three squadrons based in Singapore.
Singapore's F-16s have since 2016 been upgraded at Lockheed Martin which is expected to finish in 2022, including the addition of Northrop Grumman's AN / APG-83 digitally scanned active array radar, an improved identification, recognition system friends or foes, as well as data links Link 16.
During the interview, NG also outlined some of the other upcoming procurement programs to which Singapore is looking. These include new multi-role combat ships to replace six corvettes and new joint multi-mission vessels to replace four amphibious ships in the Singapore Navy, while the Army will replace its 155 mm-driven obese with a new self-propelled high-mobility artillery system in the 2020 .