Singapore, Israel Purchasing Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Singapore, Israel Mulls Purchasing Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

July 8, 2008 Air Force Major General Charles Davis said that Singapore has shown interest in possibly buying up to 100 of Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft over coming decades, matching Israel's tentative plans.

Lockheed's chief F-35 subcontractors are Northrop Grumman Corp. and BAE Systems Plc, with two rival, interchangeable F-35 engines are under development, one built by United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney unit; the other by a team of General Electric Co. and Rolls-Royce Group Plc. Separately, the eight countries that have joined the United States to co-develop the plane appear to be largely sticking to their plans to buy some 730 of their own. Development of the F-35, a family of radar-evading aircraft, was co-financed by Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway. The United States currently plans to buy a total of 2,443 F-35 models, including 1,763 for the U.S. Air Force and 680 for the Marine Corps and Navy together. It is the costliest U.S. arms program ever at a projected $299 billion. F-35 competitors include Saab's Gripen, the Dassault Rafale, MiG-35 and Sukhoi Su-35, and the Eurofighter Typhoon, made by a consortium of British, German, Italian and Spanish companies. 2015. The F-35C version is due to fly for the first time in about October 2009, Davis said.