Singapore Air Force F-35 pilots to train at U.S. base | Indo-Pacific Defense Forum

An Air National Guard base in the United States will become the training facility for Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) fighter pilots, including those flying the new F-35B Lightning.

Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, has been selected to host the RSAF’s future F-35B aircraft and its Peace Carvin II F-16 training detachment, which will relocate from Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) announced June 4, 2021.

The decision follows the 2020 sale of up to a dozen short-takeoff and vertical-landing F-35Bs at an estimated cost of U.S. $2.75 billion to Singapore under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act. The act allows the U.S. to sell defense equipment, conduct training and provide services to its foreign defense partners.

“The RSAF looks forward to enhanced joint training and exchanges with the USAF’s [U.S. Air Force’s] and U.S. Marine Corps’ F-35s,” MINDEF said in a statement. “Such overseas training is important for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to overcome local airspace constraints and to conduct high-end realistic training.”

Land-scarce Singapore relies on foreign partners for military training. In addition to RSAF training in the U.S., SAF personnel have trained in Australia for more than three decades.