MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho – The four Boeing P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft to be acquired by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are expected to come into service in the early 2030s.

Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said this at

Exercise Forging Sabre

in Mountain Home, Idaho, on Sept 13 (Singapore time).

Mr Chan said the aircraft will boost Singapore’s situational awareness amid a more congested maritime security environment.

This was the last stop of Mr Chan’s first official visit to the US as Defence Minister from Sept 9 to 13.

It included a

visit to F-35 developer Lockheed Martin’s production facility

in Texas, and meetings with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and other political leaders.

The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) announced the

acquisition of the P-8As

on Sept 10 to replace its ageing Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft. They have been in service for more than 30 years. Mr Chan said the evaluation process for a replacement lasted several years.

He said: “We are focused not just on the platform per se, but the capabilities. The capability we want is to enhance our situational awareness for the maritime security environment. The environment has evolved quite a lot over the past many years. It has become much more congested.”

Mr Chan added the P-8As are part of a broader upgrade to Singapore’s maritime surveillance network, rather than a one-to-one replacement. Additional platforms will be announced in the future, he said.

“Different platforms bring to the table different capabilities, and we want to make sure that we have these to augment our overall situational awareness and strengthen the resilience of our capability,” Mr Chan said.

In choosing the P-8A, Mr Chan said Mindef assessed operational requirements, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to sustain the fleet over its lifetime.

It is not just the upfront cost, he said.

He added: “We also look at the tail cost – how we are able to operate it efficiently for the entire lifespan of the platform. It will also include our engineering capability to sustain the community, so that we really stretch our defence dollar.”

On the new F-35s, expected to arrive by 2026, he said the Republic of Singapore Air Force will set up a new squadron to operate the aircraft, in the Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

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This is where the F-35 training will be hosted, alongside partner countries operating the same platforms, which will allow them to share lessons.

These acquisitions from the US, and Mr Chan’s visit, come against a backdrop of a changing global environment.

To promote regional security, Mr Chan said Mindef is committed to working with like-minded partners like the US, and building substantive capabilities for others to partner Singapore.

He said: “This is why, whether is it in the acquisitions or platform or exercises that we have, we want to make sure that we enhance the inter-operability between ourselves and different armed forces, so that we can work together.”

Mr Chan added the ability to adapt capabilities in real-time is key to maintaining a winning edge in future conflicts.

The integration of assets like the fighter jets and drones is continuously evolving, he said, and depending on the operational scenario, their capabilities have to complement each other.

The challenge, he added , then lies in figuring out how to quickly match sensors and shooters to targets before they move, and striking those targets with precision at the right time and with the right effect.

“It sounds simple, but it is not so simple, because you have many performing parts - from small drones, army, navy, air force assets, and even intelligence assets,” he said.

Coordinating across these platforms is complex, which is where high-end algorithms and artificial intelligence play a significant role, Mr Chan said. And personnel in this exercise have been honing their integration capabilities .

He added: “What you are seeing in Exercise Forging Sabre is what we call the simultaneous adaptation capability. As we use our current processes, the engineers, and operators, are constantly evolving the processes, and without having to wait for a few months, we actually bring in new capabilities online.”

This alleviates the problem of having to wait for the next exercise to keep updated with changes, Mr Chan said.

He added: “Adaptability is actually key to victory in many of the operations that we see. It’s never about how good your weapon systems are at the beginning, or how good your processes are at the beginning, because in any operations, you will need to adapt.”

Overall, Exercise Forging Sabre allowed the

SAF to hone its integration

abilities between assets and end-to-end targeting, Mr Chan said.

Reflecting on his first official US visit, Mr Chan said it gave him a good appreciation of the diversity of views the US principals have on the global situation.

Over three days, Mr Chan also met Deputy National Security Adviser Andy Baker, US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, and members of Congress.

He said: “As long as we can understand their needs and their plans better,...(it) allows us to better provide the value proposition in our interactions.”

At Mountain Home, he interacted with army personnel and visited SAF families. He added the SAF was working to improve care for its servicemen and women.

He said: “In order for our people to operate effectively...we must take care of the families. When we see happy families, we know there will be focused soldiers.”

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