MELBOURNE, Australia — The U.S. and Singaporean governments have chosen Ebbing Air Nationwide Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to host the Southeast Asian nation’s Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighter Falcon and future F-35B fighter jet coaching detachments.
The Arkansas Nationwide Guard’s Public Affairs Workplace stated Singapore’s fleet of 12 F-16s is anticipated to start arriving in 2023, and its first of as much as 12 F-35Bs are to observe in 2026.
The Republic of Singapore Air Power is at the moment flying the F-16s out of Luke Air Power Base, positioned close to Phoenix, Arizona. Its personnel have educated there on varied F-16 fashions nearly constantly for the reason that late Eighties with the 425th Fighter Squadron, a joint pressure made up of personnel from each international locations.
Often called the Peace Carvin II detachment, the squadron is relocating to make room for Luke AFB’s increasing F-35 coaching program. A Taiwanese F-16 coaching squadron at the moment on base can even transfer for a similar purpose, with the close by Arizona Air Nationwide Guard base chosen to host that detachment.
Singapore was permitted to accumulate 4 short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35 variants with an choice for eight extra of the “B” fashions. Deliveries are resulting from start in 2026. Singapore has determined to consolidate its U.S.-based F-35 coaching along with its F-16 detachment at one location.
Officers from the Singaporean and U.S. air forces visited three areas in March earlier than making the ultimate choice. The opposite areas visited had been Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas and Selfridge Air Nationwide Guard Base in Michigan, with the latter chosen as an alternate location to Ebbing ANGB.
Along with its Arizona-based F-16 coaching detachment, the land-scarce island nation additionally has an F-15 coaching squadron in Mountain Dwelling, Idaho, and a Boeing AH-64D Apache assault helicopter detachment in Marana, Arizona. Singapore additionally signed a memorandum of understanding in 2019 with the USA to arrange a everlasting fighter coaching detachment within the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam that may start in 2029.