Singapore asks to buy air-to-air missiles: Pentagon


	Agence France Presse September 27, 2000 WASHINGTON RELATED: Defence technology to be Singapore's cutting edge: minister France's "secret" missile sale with S'pore: report S'pore refuses comment on 'missile purchase' SINGAPORE has asked to buy up to 100 advanced medium range air-to-air missiles from the US in what would be the first sale of the missile to a southeast Asian country, the Pentagon said. The Pentagon said the proposed sale, valued at US$100 mlllion, would help "to improve the security of a friendly country which has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in southeast Asia." The AIM-120C missile, made by Raytheon Missile Systems Corp, is a "fire and forget" missile that can be fired from beyond visual range. The Pentagon had restricted sale of the missile to NATO countries until last year when it agreed to sell it to Israel and a number of Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.