By Carl Thayer
Singapore is studying the F-35B Lightning as part of its larger effort to gain air dominance in its neighborhood.
At this year’s Singapore Airshow, held from February 11-16, visiting foreign defense reporters viewed a model of the Singapore Navy’s Endurance-class Landing Platform Dock (LPD) reconfigured as a Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD). This led to speculation that Singapore intends to outfit its future Endurance LHDs by procuring the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning IIs.
The F-35B is a fifth generation supersonic stealth fighter that meets Singapore’s unstated objective of maintaining air superiority over its immediate neighborhood. The F-35B is a short vertical take off and landing aircraft suited for Singapore’s congested landmass. Singapore is in the process of consolidating its three military airfields. The reduction in runways is compensated for by the F-35′s ability to take off in a short space. A fully loaded F-35B needs only 168 meters of runway.
In addition, the F-35B has demonstrated that it can land and take off easily from ships at sea. In recent trials, the F-35B successfully landed and took off from the USS Wasp LHD-1. The F-35B would give Singapore a winning advantage should a conflict break out in Southeast Asia.
Singapore has been a Security Cooperative Participant in the F-35 program since 2003. In 2011, Singapore began a serious study of the F-35B.
Read the full story at The Diplomat