Republic of Singapore Air force

On 9th Jan 2020, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency ( DSCA ) announced that the US Department of State had just approved a potential Foreign Military Sale ( FMS ) to Singapore of up to 12 F-35B Short Take-Off And Vertical Landing ( STOVL ) aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 2.75 billion.

Singapore's interest in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter ( JSF ) program had began in Mar 2004 when it became a security cooperative participant. For a very long time the Singapore government seemed contented to just monitor the progress of the JSF program as it matured. There were numerous instances when defense analysts and news agencies had indicated that Singapore might be ready to acquire the F-35 but the JSF deal had remained elusive. It even failed to materialize during Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit to the White House in 2016, at the invitation of President Obama.

All that changed in Jan 2019 when Minister for Defense Ng Eng Hen announced that Singapore had identified the F-35 as a suitable candidate to replace its ageing F-16 fighters and would be acquiring a small number of the stealthy 5th generation fighter for a full evaluation of its capabilities and suitability before deciding on a full fleet.

By Mar 2019 it was revealed that Singapore would be requesting for an initial four F-35 JSF with an option for eight more, variant unspecified. Months of media speculation followed, but we now know that Singapore has selected the F-35B, the STOVL version which is the most expensive among the three F-35 variants.