Defense Technology International - January/February 2008 - (Page 45) FOCUS REGIONAL PAX SINGAPORE Air show highlights tiny city-state’s growing defense capabilities U.S. NAVY Singapore’s stealth frigate RSS Formidable (68) cruises in the Bay of Bengal with the Indian frigate INS Brahmaputra. Singapore is expanding its military capabilities to safeguard trade. JORIS JANSSEN LOK•THE HAGUE S ingapore’s position at the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula, astride some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, means that extended-range air and sea surveillance and control are required to ensure the unimpeded flow of trade and capital that make it the economic hub of Southeast Asia. Its military readiness is reflected in major procurement programs that are expanding the tiny nation’s capabilities for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and long-range precision strike. The Singapore air show, Feb. 19-24, will be an important window on the status of Singapore’s armed forces, as well as the capabilities and technological advances of its rapidly expanding defense and security industry. The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), for example, has in recent years modernized its fighter force, augmenting and replacing A-4S Skyhawks, (R)F5S Tigers and early-model F-16A/Bs with a fleet of around 60 F-16C/Ds, the most recent of which are of the Block 52+ variant (the others are Block 40s). Their range can be extended by in-flight refueling, for which the RSAF operates four KC-135R tankers transferred by the U.S. Air Force. Three F-16 squadrons are operational, two at Tengah Air Base and one with Block 52+ jets near Changi International Airport. The long-range capability will be further expanded by the addition of 24 Boeing F-15SG strike aircraft starting this year. The aircraft were ordered in two batches after beating Dassault Aviation’s Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon in a fly-o competition. In the coming decade, the RSAF is expected to acquire two to three dozen Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters to replace three squadrons of modernized, short-range F-5s, based at Paya Lebar Air Base. The country has, along with Israel, the status of security cooperation partner in the U.S.-led Joint Strike Fighter program. Airborne early warning and control is provided by Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye aircraft based at Tengah, while for maritime patrol the RSAF operates Fokker 50 Mk 2S Enforcer aircraft out of Changi. Singapore is also developing capabilities with unmanned aerial vehicles. The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is shifting from a local patrol and missile strike force to a blue-water capability. This is being achieved by the procurement of six 3,200-ton Formidable-class (Project Delta) frigates from DCNS and Thales of France. The first was built in France, and is in service. The other five are being built by Singapore Technologies Marine. The nation’s Defense Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) is leading the combat systems integration of the ships, working with Singapore Technologies Electronics. The five ships will be operational by 2009. With Boeing Harpoon and MBDA Aster 30 missiles, an Oto Melara 76-mm. main gun and Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk helicopter, the frigates represent a jump ahead in maritime strength. Undersea capabilities are growing with the acquisition of used submarines from Sweden—four 1,200-ton Challenger-class boats were procured between 1997 and 2001, and two advanced Type A 17 boats will arrive by 2010. Singapore may join Sweden, and possibly Norway, in development of a next-generation submarine that will enter service toward the end of the next decade. Singapore has locally developed another maritime capability: four Enduranceclass landing platform dock ships. These 8,500-ton platforms allow projection of force around the island as well as regionally. One vessel has been deployed in the Persian Gulf as part of the coalition force. Each carries up to eight landing craft and two Super Puma helicopters. The army aviation forces, meanwhile, operate 20 Boeing AH-64D Apache 45 www.aviationweek.com/dti JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL http://www.aviationweek.com/dti
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