MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho — Singapore's four new Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft will likely be put into service in the early 2030s, Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Saturday (Sept 13).

He was speaking to the media at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, at the tail end of his introductory visit to the US from Sept 9 to 13.

At his meeting with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Sept 10, it was announced that the Fokker 50s, which have been in use since 1993, will be retired.

The Ministry of Defence had said earlier this week that it will be acquiring the four Boeing P-8A aircraft to replace the ageing Fokker 50s.

Chan told reporters on Saturday that the Republic has been evaluating replacement assets "for a few years" and searching for one which can "enhance our situation awareness" in today's "congested" security environment.

"We will need the range of capabilities that we can acquire with the P-8A, but there will also be other capabilities that we will need to complement the P-8A," he explained, adding that such other assets which Singapore may buy will subsequently be revealed.

Another factor considered in choosing of new assets is also cost effectiveness, including the cost of efficient operations for the entire lifespan of the asset.

Singapore's first of 20 F-35 fighter jets is also on track to be delivered by end-2026, confirmed Chan during a visit to Lockheed Martin's production facility on Sept 12.

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He noted on Saturday that talks with authorities in Arkansas, US, are ongoing for a new Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) squadron using the F-35 jets to be based at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith for training.

"There will also be other countries that will be operating similar platforms in Ebbing, and that will allow us to share lessons and also learn from one another," he said on the decision.

'Grab a bomb service'

During his visit to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Chan spoke to some of the 800 odd troops participating in the 10th run of Exercise Forging Sabre (XFS) and engaged with families of theRSAF Peace Carvin V detachment.

The biennial drill held from Sept 6 to 21 brings together personnel from the Singapore Army, RSAF, Digital and Intelligence Service as well as the defence technology community and features an increased use of micro drones.

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Chan was also shown the command post and the Command and Control Information System (CCIS) — the "brain" of this integrated sense and strike exercise that helps warfighters coordinate the operation of strike assets like the AH-64D Apache attack helicopters and fighter jets.

In this edition of XFS, the CCIS has been enhanced with artificial intelligence. Akin to the Grab delivery platform, the algorithm matches assets to mission requirement and recommends warfighters how to effectively assign missions to drones, used here for surveillance and intelligence purposes.

This "Grab a bomb service", quipped Chan, is an example of how processes are constantly evolving and developed.

"One of the things I'm very happy to see in the exercise is that it's not a group of people who is just trying to take out a target and just shoot a target; you also see them trying to constantly evolve their processes," he elaborated.

He pointed out that this adaptability is key to victory in many operations.

"It's never about how good your weapon system is...or how good your processes are at the beginning, because in any operations, you need to adapt.

"The ability to adapt and refine processes in real time is actually our winning edge beyond our capabilities."

lim.kewei@asiaone.com