Singapore Plans to Order Four Lockheed Martin Fighter Jets

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore plans to order four Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to replace its aging F-16 fleet and plans to send a letter of request to the U.S. for the acquisition, Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said Friday.

Singapore also plans to have an option to order eight more of the fighter jets, Ng said to lawmakers in parliament. The city-state’s air force could have a fleet of F-35s and F-15SGs in a decade or so from now, he said.

Here are some comments made by the defense minister on the F-35s:

• Price of the F-35s has been steadily falling due to orders from the U.S. and 10 other countries, including the U.K., Italy, Japan and South Korea
• Singapore sees now is opportune time to put in a request for the jet fighter as the unit price for the jet ranges from $90 million to $150 million per aircraft, which is comparable to what the country paid for the F-15SGs
• The total ownership cost of a fleet of F-35s including maintenance across the lifespan of the aircraft will also be similar to F-15SGs
• Defense ministry will continue to work with its U.S. counterpart to optimize operating and maintenance costs

To contact the reporter on this story: Kyunghee Park in Singapore at kpark3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net, Melissa Cheok

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