Singapore requests upgrade of its F-16s
The U.S. military reports a possible deal with Singapore to modernize aging F-16 variants flown by the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
By Richard Tomkins | May 8, 2015




WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- The upgrade of 60 F-16C/D/D+ aircraft flown by Singapore is in the works through a possible U.S. Foreign Military Sales program deal worth about $130 million.

The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in its required notification to Congress that the proposed sale had been approved by the State Department and would serve U.S. national interests.

"This proposed sale contributes to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by increasing the ability of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) to support regional security, the agency said. "The improved capability, survivability, and reliability of the newly upgraded F-16s will enhance the RSAF's ability to defend its borders and contribute to coalition operations."

The upgrades are related to the reliability, supportability, and combat effectiveness of the aircraft.The entire package, however, would include provision of Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems, Advanced identification friend-or-foe interrogator/transponders, missile launchers, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits, munition fuze units, a variety of bombs, communivations equipment and GPS/inertial navigation systems and other gear.

Logistics and other support services would also be provided, DSCA said.

More than a dozen companies -- such as Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon -- would be principal contractors for the upgrades and equipment.

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Sec...?spt=sec&or=bn

US approves updates for Singapore F-16 upgrade
By: GREG WALDRONSINGAPORE Source: Flightglobal.com 05:15 8 May 2015



The US State Department has issued a list of updated approvals for equipment related to Singapore’s upgrade of its 60 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 52 fighters.

The total value of the approved equipment comes to $130 million. It details requirements not contained in the Defence Security Cooperation Agency’s (DSCA) previous notification in January 2014, which valued the total upgrade at $2.4 billion, says the agency in a statement.

The revised approval covers a range of equipment, notably 50 Boeing joint helmet-mounted queuing systems (JHMQC), 90 BAE Systems AN/APX-126 advanced identification friend and foe (IFF) interrogator/transponders, and 92 Link-16 terminals.

The number of JHMQC sets and IFF transponders vary from those listed in early 2014. The previous approval called for 70 JHMQCS sets, which is 20 more than in the current document. The additional requirement also calls for 70 AN/APX-125 IFF transponders, but now Singapore appears to want 20 additional IFF units, and of a different standard - the AN/APX-126.

The revised document makes no mention of any changes to the main element of the upgrade, the addition of an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar to the fleet.The January 2014 approval allowed for 70 AESA sets.

The issuance of the new approval suggests that work is underway between Washington D.C. and Singapore to move the upgrade programme forward.

Industry sources have indicated that Lockheed Martin will handle the avionics component of the upgrade programme, and Northrop Grumman will supply its Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) for the radar component.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...pgrade-412097/