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Singapore will buy 8 F-35 stealth fighter jets, and will have a total of 20 fifth generation aircraft. Photo/REUTERS
SINGAPORE – Singapore, one of Indonesia's close neighbors, will buy eight F-35A stealth fighter jets. This decision was taken after the country's defense budget increased by 2.5 percent from the previous year.
Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) would purchase eight aircraft made by Lockheed Martin in the United States to serve the country's security needs.
During the Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) budget debate in Parliament on Wednesday, Ng said the planes were expected to be delivered around 2030.
This amount exceeds the existing RSAF order, which is as many as 12 F-35 “B” variant jets. With this new order, Singapore's fleet of F-35 fighter jets will be 20 units.
“Once operational, the F-35 jet will put the Singapore Air Force in the 'major league',” he said, as quoted by Channel News Asia, Thursday (29/2/2024).
Ng said the F-35A purchase was timed to take advantage of a “window of opportunity”.
According to him, the price of the F-35 is now more competitive amid healthy orders for the jet globally. But he refused to reveal the cost of purchasing eight F-35As.
Addressing Parliament, Ng said that overall, MINDEF spending will reach SD20.2 billion (USD15 billion) for the 2024/2025 fiscal year, up 2.5 percent from the previous year.
But Ng stressed that despite a nominal increase in defense spending, the share of defense spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) has declined as it has been outpaced by economic growth.