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Wed, Jul 09, 2008
Agencies
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S'pore wants to buy 100 of world's most advanced fighters
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>SINGAPORE has shown interest in possibly buying up to 100 of the stealthy, multi-role F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft over coming decades, said the general in charge of the programme for the Pentagon.
Said Air Force Major-General Charles Davis, the Pentagon's programme chief: "The Israelis have said they'd take up to 100 aircraft. The Singaporeans have said basically the same thing."
Embassy spokesmen for the two countries had no immediate comment.
The world's most advanced fighter jet, the supersonic F-35 is designed to attack moving targets in any environment. It uses stealth technology to prevent detection by radar or infrared sensors.
Development of the super- fighter was co-financed by Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.
Singapore, as a security cooperation participant of the multinational programme, has access to proprietary information, including flight simulations.
Israel is currently the only nation involved at this level, one rung down from the nine JSF programme partners.
Singapore's Ministry of Defence, in a previous comment on the F-35 JSF, said the plane was "a potential candidate" to meet the air force's "longer-term requirements for a multi-role fighter".
The United States currently plans to buy a total of 2,443 F-35 models. Hundreds of others may be sold overseas to replace a range of fighters, including Lockheed Martin F-16s and Boeing F-18s.
It is the costliest US arms programme ever at a projected US$299 billion (S$407 billion).
The conventional version is projected to cost about US$68 million apiece. -- AGENCIES
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