The jet makers are to submit final bids next year to deliver an initial 20-24 aircraft to replace Singapore's aging A-4 Sky hawk fighters, built by McDonnell Douglas Corp., the island's defense ministry said. The government will pick the winner in 2004 and take deliveries by the end of the decade.

``This new replacement aircraft will need to serve us for the next 20-30 years,'' said Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tony Tan in a statement.

Potential candidates for the fighter replacement include the Boeing F-15 and F-18E/F, and the latest version of Lockheed Martin's F-16. Dassault Aviation SA's Rafale, the Eurofighter GmbH Typhoon and the Russian Sukhoi Su-30 are also likely to vie for the contract, the government said. Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is in the final stages of choosing the supplier of 40 similar jets in an order valued at about $4 billion.

The winning bid may also gain an additional order when Singapore replaces its Northrop Grumman Corp. F-5 jets. The defense ministry declined to say how long it plans to keep the F-5 in service, although the design is more than 40 years old.

JSF Prospects

Singapore is also participating in the preliminary phase of the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter development program, or JSF, although this aircraft won't be available in time to meet the island's immediate needs.

The JSF may still be a candidate to replace Singapore's existing F-16 squadrons ``after 2010'', said Richard Aboulafia, aviation consulting director with Teal Group Corp. of the US.

The JSF, potentially the biggest fighter program in history, is now subject to the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review, and its future is in doubt.

``It's very much under threat,'' Aboulafia said, first from the current review, then again in about 2008 when the US defense department will try to find procurement funds. ``If JSF fails to go ahead, then the US has no export fighter to offer beyond 2010,'' as the F-15 and F-18 designs both date back to the 1970s, he said.

If Singapore's picks a US supplier for its 2004 order, and the JSF is canceled later, the country may then have to settle for ``inferior terms from Eurofighter or Dassault later in the decade'', Aboulafia said. The outcome could mean reduced industrial benefits for Singapore and a higher price, he said.

Singapore's defense ministry declined to comment on any future participation in the JSF program.

Source: Council for a Livable World

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