Singapore plans to buy F-35 jets - defence minister
SINGAPORE, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Singapore's defence minister said on Friday that Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets were the most suitable replacement for its F-16 fleet, and it planned to buy "a few planes first" for evaluation.
"They (defence agencies) have decided that the F-35 would be the most suitable replacement fighter," Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post.
"We want to procure a few planes first, to fully evaluate the capabilities of the F-35 before deciding on the acquisition of a full fleet," he added.
Singapore's fleet of around 60 F-16 jets are nearing the end of their service life. (Reporting by John Geddie and Aradhana Aravindan; editing by Darren Schuettler)