The Boeing F-15SG has quickly risen to become the primary air superiority platform of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Combat Aircraft Journal studies the F-15SG fleet as it marks its first decade of service.
For a little over three decades, the mainstay of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) attack force was the diminutive McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Purchased for surplus US Navy stocks, these were latterly upgraded to an impressive A-4SU Super Skyhawk standard and at its peak the air force operated some 120 examples across three squadrons — 142, 143, 145 — and also with 150 Squadron latterly in its career as a lead-in jet trainer.
Singapore launched its Next Fighter Replacement Program (NFRP) in 1998, as it began drawing down its A-4SU fleet, offset by the introduction of Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds. The NFRP saw vigorous competition between Eurofighter, the Dassault Rafale and the Boeing F-15E — all of which were shortlisted. The Eurofighter was eliminated in April 2005, but this was primarily due to the fact that the European partners couldn’t promise Tranche 2-standard jets. Indeed, one senior RSAF pilot who spoke to Combat Aircraft Journal in 2013 specifically praised the Eurofighter, suggesti…
