Possible Training Facility on Guam Will Be “Significant Boost” for RSAF

TODAY

05 August 2016

Singapore’s air training space and military ties with the United States will be expanded if discussions for training opportunities in Guam in the western Pacific are finalised, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

“(Our) Air Force is always looking for opportunities to expand its training options because we are so airspace-constrained in Singapore,” Mr Lee told the Singapore media on Wednesday morning (US local time) as he wound up a four-day official visit the US.

“We have fighter training in America, flying training in Australia — we have a flying training school there, we have got a facility in France in Bordeaux. Guam, geographically, is a bit closer than these places.”

… “Training in Guam would be positive for the RSAF due to distance and environment. Deployment in Guam means shorter transport, both for equipment and personnel, and it would save some budget,” said Dr Wu Shang-Su, a research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ (RSIS) Military Studies Programme. “Furthermore, the detachment is more likely to be sent back home as reinforcements in a crisis. A maritime and tropical climate would be closer to Singapore than sites on the American continent.”

… “The F-35 is, in my opinion, pretty much a done deal. It is a question of when, not if, the RSAF will acquire the aircraft,” said Dr Bernard Loo, an associate professor at the RSIS’ Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.

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Last updated on 05/08/2016