The 2023 defense spending for Singapore is SGD17.98 billion (USD13.4 billion). The amount represents a 10% increase over the 2022 initial budget as well as a 5.6% increase over the SGD17.02 billion revised allotment.
SGD17.11 billion, or a 4.2% rise, will be spent on operations as part of the 2023 defense budget. This amount, or SGD17.04 billion, is primarily allocated to the Singapore Armed Services (SAF).
The SAF allocation, according to the Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), will cover the cost of purchasing military equipment, maintaining camps and equipment, as well as paying wages and allowances. It stated that compared to the revised expenditure for 2022, the SAF allocation rose by nearly SGD694 million.
Additionally, SGD871.3 million, a 43% rise, is allocated to development expenditures in the 2023 budget. According to MINDEF, a portion of the significant increase can be attributed to the restart of initiatives that were halted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic had previously halted military operations, according to MINDEF, which also led to an increase in the initial 2022 defense budget. The budgetary increase was also brought on by "heightened inflationary pressures" in operations, training, and development initiatives, it said.
MINDEF gave no new information regarding expenditures.
The Singaporean government announced on February 24 that it would exercise an option to purchase eight more Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter aircraft with short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities in addition to the original four that it had committed to purchasing in 2019. When the SAF's F-16s are scheduled to be retired in the middle of the 2030s, the F-35Bs will take their place.
Source: Janes.com
