Starting early next week, the Singapore Airshow is a big place for international arms deals to go down. US arms makers like Lockheed and Raytheon are responsible for some of the largest such deals, but finding buyers isn’t always easy.
The US State Department has apparently decided that selling Lockheed planes isn’t just Lockheed’s job, it’s the American diplomatic corps’ job, and is sending Ambassador Tina Kaidanow to the airshow specifically to drum up sales of the F-35.
The huge, costly Lockheed planes aren’t exactly flying off the shelves, and the State Department says this would be a good test case for the administration’s new policy of having officials take the lead in securing arms sales for major US companies.
Kaidanow is the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, and is to be taking point on the “Buy America” initiative, which the State Department says will promote not just the F-35, but all US-made weapons.
Singapore is perfect for the F-35; a rich country that doesn’t get into wars can always use a stealth bomber.
“…can always use a stealth bomber.”
…that doesn’t work.
Oh c’mon, Saudi Arabia was one of the biggest customers of showy U.S. war toys and they never used… ahh… them…
Oh, w8… nvm.
With all the arms sales news going around lately, it does appear that the US government is now openly under the influence and in the employment (political donations) of the Military industrial complex and the mission of endless wars is raking in the profits at the expense of the US tax payer with the US military budget seemly the only budget guaranteed growth and never seriously cut.
It has become everything Eisenhower warned about.
It hasn’t just now “become”, but has been since LBJ.
President Donald Lockheed Israel Boeing McDonald’s Diet Coke Trump
We can’t even keep em in the air without technical/mechanical problems and now we want to unload the Turkey on our friends?
We have no friends. Friends trust each other.
Israel already has some, first off the line.
Serves ’em right too!
It is perfect for Singapore.
You are never more than 20kms from the border, so it never has to fly far.
No matter what happens you can ditch in the sea, no one has ever attacked you and you are not stupid enough to attack Malaya, Indonesia or the Philippines.
‘In February 2003, Singapore joined the JSF program’s System Design and Development (SDD) Phase, as a Security Co-operation Participant (SCP). The first deliveries of the F-35 are not expected before 2015, ‘
Ooops!
Current has 40 x F15 and 60 x F16, but no indication of how many are operational.
In total they have 13,000 personnel for about 260 aircraft and 50 types of missiles including Ground to air defence.
Just as well they have never had a war.
Why? looks like they’d win!
… A defensive war anyway. Stealth bombers are mainly an offensive weapons and would change the character of their fleet.
If I assume 50% aircraft and 50% personnel missiles, give 6,500 for Aircraft.
Assume 50% operational and 50% personnel administrative- support gives 3,250 operational, for 260 aircraft.
Take out the pilots including their instructors and trainees and you should have say 2,750 aircraft support persons.
100 fighter and the rest require many more support persons (they have refuelling tankers for an island 50kms long by 30 wide!).
You would be lucky if the fighters get 6 or 7 ground staff per plane.
I would be interested to know what the figures are for US and Russia, I think the numbers for UK are around 40 per plane.
Russia initially had around 50 aircraft going round the clock in Syria and 1000 personnel, techs and soldiers, at Hmeimim airbase. Assuming only half work directly with aircraft that works out to 10 for each jet or helo. The actual assignment of personnel was probably much different.
If you’re just going by the superficial numbers, Singapore could probably fight a limited defensive war, assuming their facilities are reasonably secure, their people well-trained, motivated and equipped, and they could sustain their arsenal of American planes at least as well as a Russian expeditionary air group did theirs.
There’s really no comparison of Singapore to the U.S. land or naval aviation fleet, nor Russia’s mainland fleet in terms of support. Singapore has no reason to maintain the same degree of readiness.
According to Globalfirepower, Singapore is rated 45/133 in air power but 65/133 in overall military strength, 21/133 in fighter-interceptor strength and 23/133 in ground attack strength. This is not an offensive force.
In practical terms they wouldn’t need a stealth bomber pretending to be a multirole fighter but the purchase could be made for diplomatic reasons.
My point is that the Singapore armed forces are purely for theatre and show.
It allows Singapore to spend large amounts of money with the chosen suppliers but is in fact utterly pointless.
The world does not have small regional local wars any more. Only proxy wars for the US and any who dares to defy their corporations.
The whole worldwide military expenditure is a way to defraud the people of the benefits of modern production. In the old days you used up excess production in building Pyramids and Cathedrals. Now it is used to build bombs and waste money that way.
Sad, very sad.
While not a pyramid or cathedral, the F-35 is a pricey headstone marking the passing of an affordable and effective air force whose costs will endure into time.
‘requiescat in pace’
Friends don’t sell friends junk that doesn’t work. Singapore would probably get a better deal- and more use- by buying up a bunch of mothballed F-4 Phantoms and refurbishing them.