We found fascinating statistics from The Global Firepower ranking tracks, as we do every year. As an extension of the Fighter/Interceptor Aircraft listing, the report rating records aircraft elements dedicated to ground strike sorties.
These aircraft are designed to attack ground targets while providing greater support for a variety of air-to-ground missiles.
Singapore has been named the Southeast Asian country with the most fighter/interceptor aircraft equipment.
No other Southeast Asia air force compares to the Republic of Singapore Air Force in terms of equipment and overall readiness (RSAF). The RSAF's mainstay is 40 Boeing F-15SG fighter jets, while Singapore only professes to have 24.
This fleet is split between Singapore and Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. Raytheon's APG-63(V)3 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, Lockheed Martin's Sniper targeting pod, an infrared search and track sensor, and an Israeli electronic warfare system are all included in the fighter.
Singapore plans to upgrade about 60 Lockheed F-16s to the F-16V standard by late 2020. The fighters' avionics will be updated, and Northrop Grumman's APG-83 AESA radar will be installed. The fleet will be able to service well into the 2030s as a result of this.
Singapore has also been given permission to purchase up to 12 Lockheed F-35B stealth fighter jets, making it the first Southeast Asian government to do so.
In 2026, the first four instances will be delivered. They won't be sent to Singapore right away; instead, they'll be based at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas, where a detachment of F-16Vs will also be stationed. This will increase the number of opportunities for training with both sorts.
18 Boeing AH-64D Apache attack helicopters are part of the RSAF's fixed-wing strike capability.
The RSAF fleet is completed by a variety of support aircraft. Six Airbus Defence & Space A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft, which entered full operational capability last April, are the most visible of them.
Airbus and the RSAF concluded flying trials of the type's autonomous refueling system, or A3R, in May 2021.
The test campaign, which took place in early 2021 and involved Singapore's Defence Science and Technology Agency, featured 88 completely automated dry and wet contacts with another A330 MRTT, as well as RSAF F-15SGs and F-16s. During this work, over 30 tonnes of fuel were moved.
Singapore's fleet of Gulfstream G550-based airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, as well as its Fokker 50 MPA Enforcer Mk 2s, which also have anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability, receive good grades for situational awareness.
Singapore has made investments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with the Heron 1s from Israel Aerospace Industries gaining full operational capability in 2017.
Source: The Global Firepower 2022 Report, Flightglobal.com
