Closing the possibilities first announced at the beginning of last year, the U.S. has decided to scrap plans to station up to 12 F-15SG fighters from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) on the island of Guam, one of Washington’s key strategic points for its presence in the Indo-Pacific region. The news has been officially confirmed through a statement from the Ministry of Defence of the island nation, which, while noting that the aforementioned aircraft will no longer be deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, also emphasized the important defense relationship between the two nations.
On this matter, Singapore’s Ministry of Defence stated yesterday: “After reviewing the RSAF’s training needs, the Ministry of Defence of Singapore (MINDEF) and the U.S. Department of Defense have agreed to suspend discussions on an RSAF fighter training detachment in Guam. The RSAF will continue periodic short-term training and exercises in Guam, such as an upcoming fighter training detachment between October and November 2025.”
Delving into the details, it is worth noting that the F-15SGs were to be deployed by the service to facilitate pilot training alongside their U.S. counterparts, the country of origin of the aircraft. According to reports, the decision not to proceed with this relocation was made jointly by Washington and Singapore, based on the results of recent operational analyses, environmental impact studies, changes to the original military strategies, and various inputs from government agencies.
It should be noted, however, that at least part of the planned infrastructure expansion for Andersen Air Force Base under this project will still go ahead. According to earlier reports, this would involve works expanding the facility’s area by about 20 acres, enabling the construction of a new fuel resupply system, buildings, and sites to house aircraft operating from there—on the northwest side of the existing runway. However, plans for up to three new munitions storage facilities are also expected to be scrapped.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that even though its F-15SGs will not be sent to Guam, Singapore still plans to establish a training detachment for its future F-35 fighter pilots in the United States. This would be at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, located in the state of Arkansas, where a training center for foreign pilots already operates. If implemented, this would join the island nation’s existing presence at Luke Air Force Base, where personnel are trained on the F-16, as well as troops deployed to Silverbell Army Heliport in Arizona for similar work with AH-64 Apache helicopters.
Images used for illustrative purposes
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