Lockheed wins $8.7 million contract for Singapore F-16 upgrades
Singapore first took delivery of the 62 F-16 C/D Block 50/52 between 1997 and 2005. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Tech. Sgt. Michael Holzworth)
Lockheed Martin has been awarded an additional $8.7 million for spares to support the upgrade of Singapore’s F-16 fighter jets and ensure it meets modern warfare requirements. This contract modification has now boosted the overall contract to around US$1.1 billion.
Work will be carried out in Fort Worth, Texas, and will be expected to complete by 31 September 2027.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) currently operates around 62 F-16 C/D Block 50/52 aircraft. Deliveries of the upgraded aircraft were confirmed at the Singapore Air Show in 2022, with the first aircraft reportedly arriving six months before in June 2021. The contract for the F-16 upgrade was initially awarded in 2015.
In a statement published by Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in September 2023, it was announced that its F-16 aircraft have been upgraded. The upgrades, MINDEF said, would “ensure the RSAF's operational readiness and capability to defend Singapore's skies until the mid-2030s”.
New and advanced capabilities on the aircraft include a new Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar (AESA), the ability to deploy air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions, an upgraded electronic warfare suite and improved datalink capabilities.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
Evolving for the future fight
Built on a 60-year heritage of providing the Department of Defense with solutions to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum.
-
South Korea: $16.64 billion in as-yet-unawarded contracts up for grabs in the air domain
South Korea’s military air market is the 12th largest in the world when it comes to unawarded procurement programmes, with an estimated US$7.50 billion potentially set to be awarded over the next decade.
-
Boeing prepared to go fast on CxR uncrewed tiltrotor concept
The Collaborative Transformational Rotorcraft is designed with the potential to meet a range of mission requirements, from reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition to contested logistics.
-
Anduril’s YFQ-44A successfully completes first flight test
The drone is the second prototype to take flight under the US Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme.