สิงคโปร์ มีความต้องการจัดหา F-35B อยู่แล้วครับ คงจัดหาเรือบรรทุกเฮลิคอปเตอร์ ที่มีความสามารถรองรับปฏิบัติการด้วย F-35B ได้ด้วย แบบเดียวกับ ออสเตรเลีย ซึ่งวัตถุประสงค์ คือ ความมั่นคงในทะเลจีนใต้ ครับ

Reports: Singapore Leaning Toward F-35B Variant

Apr 4, 2013 Leithen Francis | Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Singapore is poised to place an order for Lockheed Martin F-35s, with various reports suggesting that the most likely version is the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (stovl) variant being developed for the U.S. Marine Corps.

The country’s defense minister, Ng Eng Hen, has told Singapore’s parliament that the ministry of defense has almost completed its evaluation of the F-35 as a replacement for Singapore’s aging Northrop F-5s. He also says the country’s Lockheed Martin F-16s will eventually need replacing and the aircraft are already midway through their life.

According to the Aviation Week Intelligence Network database, Singapore has 38 Northrop F-5s/Ts and 60 F-16C/Ds. It also bought 24 Boeing F-15SGs a few years ago.

Singapore, which is a strong U.S. ally, already has official observer status to the F-35 program. It signed up as an observer in early 2003, along with Israel, which has since ordered F-35s. Various news reports, citing unnamed sources, say Singapore plans to place an order for the B model as early as this month.

This aircraft will give Singapore new opportunities with Stovl capabilities.

The Southeast Asian nation has a very small geographic area — the main island of Singapore is 42 km from east to west and 23 km from north to south — and it has very few air bases. But having a stovl capability would mean the Singapore air force could operate the aircraft from many more places. In fact, some of Singapore’s roads are already built in such a way so that, if need be, they can be quickly converted to a military runway in times of conflict.

In 2008, the air force conducted Operation Torrent, in which it converted Lim Chu Kang Road, in western Singapore, into a military runway and had Singapore air force F-16s take off and land on the road as a trial exercise. An F-35B aircraft is even more capable of doing this, although the road will need to be treated or resurfaced to cope with the heat generated from the aircraft’s engines.

Another factor that may have led Singapore to choose the F-35B is its interoperability with U.S. forces in Asia Pacific.

The U.S. Marines will be operating the F-35B and are expanding their presence in the region by building up a permanent presence, for example, at the Royal Australian Air Force’s base in Darwin, northern Australia. There is a possibility that some of the first F-35s operating in Australia will be U.S. Marine F-35Bs. Operating the same model as the U.S. Marines not only aids interoperability but also helps with product support.

Another advantage of the F-35B for Singapore and the U.S. is that it can take off and land from aircraft carriers and amphibious landing platforms.

While Singapore has made clear that it will be a Joint Strike Fighter customer, Ng’s public disclosure to parliament caught some industry observers by surprise. Singapore’s defense establishment, which accounts for about 26% of the government’s budget, is notorious for trying to keep procurement information secret. But times have changed because, generally speaking, Singaporeans today are more interested in the nation’s affairs. Ng may have made the disclosure to ensure the general public is more aware of the situation so that there is no great surprise or political backlash when the multibillion dollar order is made. The B-model is more expensive than the F-35A and F-35C.

Singapore also realizes that it needs to be more transparent with its defense purchases, to avoid unsettling its neighbors. Indonesia Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told Aviation Week recently that Asian countries are modernizing their defense forces in line with economic growth. But he added that Asian countries need to be open about what they are doing and make their intentions clear. He specifically mentioned Singapore along with China, India and Indonesia. He warned that if nations fail to be transparent, it could potentially spark a regional arms race.

Model of LHD variant of ST Engineering Marine's Endurance-160. (Wendell Minnick)

TAIPEI — For years, Singapore’s ST Engineering Marine has been parading a ship model of a landing helicopter dock (LHD) vessel that could handle the jump-jet variant of the F-35 joint strike fighter.

The model was most recently on display at last month’s Singapore Airshow. And while Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) won’t confirm that it has plans to build such a vessel, it’s also not denying it.

The model shows a variant of the Endurance-160 multirole support ship configured as an LHD.

MINDEF confirmed that Singapore has expressed an interest in the F-35B, as illustrated by the recent inspection of the aircraft by Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen during his visit to Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in December.

In an interview transcript released by the Defense Writers Group, conducted in late July, US Air Force Gen. Herbert Carlisle disclosed that Lt. Gen. Ng Chee Meng, Singapore Defence Force chief, had told him that Singapore would procure the F-35B.

“I know that’s a decision that’s been made and that’s why they’re part of the program, but I don’t know where they’re at in putting that in the budget,” said Carlisle, commander of Pacific Air Forces.

Four 14,000-ton Endurance multirole support ships already serve in the Singapore Navy as landing ship tank (LST) vessels, and ST Marine delivered its first export order for the vessel to Thailand in 2012.

Though significantly smaller than the 40,000-ton US Wasp-class LHD amphibious assault ships, outfitting a 14,000-ton vessel such as the Endurance with F-35Bs is not a new idea. South Korea’s LPH-6111 Dokdo-class and Japan’s Hyuga-class “helicopter destroyer,” each 14,000 tons, reportedly have had their flight decks covered with urethane to make them resistant to jet engines.

Factors driving Singapore’s need to build light aircraft carriers include maintaining the sea lines of communication in the Malacca Strait, consolidation plans that reduce air bases from three to one, lack of strategic depth, and unresolved histories that include animosity and violence with Indonesia and Malaysia.

An unsettling reminder occurred during the Singapore Airshow in mid-February, when Indonesia named a Navy corvette “the KRI Usman Harun” in honor of the two marines who planted a bomb in a Singapore bank building in 1965 as part of then-President Sukarno’s “confrontation” policy. More than 30 bombs were set off in Singapore during the crisis. In 1968, Singapore hanged both men. Singapore has protested the naming and barred the Nakhoda Ragam-class vessel from entering Singapore.

A short-takeoff, vertical-landing (STOVL) jet is well suited for Singapore’s congested land mass, said Carl Thayer, professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy.

“Singapore is in the process of consolidating its three military airfields. The reduction in runways is compensated for by the F-35s ability to take off in a short space. A fully loaded F-35B needs only 168 meters of runway,” he said. “In addition, the F-35B has demonstrated that it can land and take off easily from ships at sea.”

In August, the F-35B performed its first night vertical landing aboard WASP. This type of capability would “suit Singapore future procurement plans,” Thayer said.

But not everyone is sold on the idea.

“I’m sure it has its appeal, not just from a power-projection and anti-piracy perspective but also from a force survivability standpoint,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president for analysis at the Teal Group, Fairfax, Va. “But it would add considerably to Singapore’s F-35 acquisition bill.”

Costs could increase as much as 25 percent to buy and operate the F-35B relative to the standard takeoff version. This would mean fewer planes, Aboulafia said.

“Singapore, as an island nation, realizes their combat aircraft runways would be vulnerable and likely targets,” said Guy Stitt, founder and president of AMl International, a Bremerton, Wash., naval analysis firm. “A STOVL capability gives them the ability to ensure combat air capabilities could be maintained without runways, although vertical take-off does eat a lot of fuel.”

The Endurance LHD design would require considerable enlargement and revamping to operate and store fixed-wing aircraft, said AMI’s chief analytical officer, Patrick Bright. The vessel would require a ski ramp and a larger elevator to handle the F-35B.

Singapore appears to be eager to procure either the F-35B or a light aircraft carrier. With the procurement of submarines and the littoral mission vessel, “I imagine the new multirole vessel design would follow them starting in 2021,” Stitt said.

The time frame would fit with plans to upgrade the country’s F-16 fleet and allow for others to iron out bugs in the F-35B program, Thayer said.

MINDEF officials said Singapore is in “no hurry” to buy the F-35.

Email: wminnick@defensenews.com.

ถ้า สิงคโปร์ ตัดสินใจ จัดหา F-35B จริง ๆ ก็คงได้เห็น สกีจัมพ์ บน Endurance-160

เรื่องเรือลำนี้กับF-35Bเป็นข่าวมาหลายปีแล้ว สเป็กเรือจากโบรชัวร์เขาเองมีความยาวเพียง163เมตรและมีลักษณะดังภาพจึงไม่น่ามีพื้นที่มากพอให้F-35Bเทคตัวขึ้นไหว อาจจะได้ถ้าตัวเปล่าออกตัวจากท้ายสุดของเรือ เครื่องบินที่เหลือช่วยทำตัวลีบๆด้วยเดี๋ยวกรูเกี่ยวเอา

มีคนเคยเอาภาพด้านล่างมาลงตั้งแต่2011โดยบอกว่ามาจากเวปของSTเลย แต่ไม่มีอะไรยืนยันเพราะไม่เคยมีโมเดลเรือแบบนี้มาโชว์เลย  มีสเป้กให้ด้วย21ลำแม่เจ้า

Can comfortably fit at least 6 F-35Bs below deck with 5 helo spots & 7 spots below deck. To operate the F-35B, it will need a forward deck extension + possible ski jump + wider elevator which the design appears to allow. If convert decks 3-5 as well, then in theory, the Endurance should be able to carry 5x3+6 = 21 F-35Bs. Less 1 for dual elevators.

โดยส่วนตัวคิดว่าจะเป็นข่าวแบบนี้ไปอีกซัก3ปีแล้วก็เงียบไปถ้าเขาไม่ซื้อ  แต่ถ้าเขาเอาจริงอีกไม่นานจะมีโมเดลเรือพร้อมสกีจั๊มออกมาโชว์กันบ้างผมรออยู่นะ คิดว่าเรือจะใหญ่กว่านี้ระดับ2หมื่นตันตามสมัยนิยมเป็นรุ่น180 หรือ 200 แล้วกัน

f 35 B ก็ขึ้นแนวดิ่งสิครับ

ไม่ต้องมีสกีจัมพ์

F-35B ความกว้างประมาณ 10.5 เมตร ส่วน เฮลิคอปเตอร์แบบ S-70B ใช้รัศมีใบพัด 16.5 เมตร ดูแล้ว F-35B ใช้ความกว้างลานบิน ในการ Take Off น้อยกว่า เฮลิคอปเตอร์ นะครับ

ส่วนระยะยาวของ ทางวิ่ง สูงสุด ที่ประมาณ 168 เมตร ซึ่งเมื่อใช้ สกีจัมพ์ ก็จะใช้ ทางวิ่ง ที่สั้นลงไปอีก ซึ่ง คุ้น ๆ ว่า สกีจัมพ์ ต้องทำมุมกี่องศา จะช่วยลดระยะไปเท่าไหร่ ยังไง เนี่ยล่ะครับ ที่เรือบรรทุกเครื่องบินรัสเซีย ชอบใช้กัน

F-35B นี่เป็น STOVL วิ่งขึ้นระยะสั้นแล้ว แล้วลงแนวดิ่ง

คิดว่าถ้าบรรทุกอาวุธแล้วไม่น่าจะสามารถขึ้นแนวดิ่งได้น่ะครับบ

ถ้าข้อมูลไม่ผิดพลาด

F35B ที่ Max takeoff weight ขึ้นบินแบบ STOV ต้องการทางวิ่ง 165 เมตร  ถ้าขึ้นแบบมีสกีจัมป์ต้องการทางวิ่ง 135 เมตร เรียกว่าถ้า Endurance-160 โมให้มีสกีจัมป์ก็พอจะขึ้นไหว  แล้วอีกอย่างทางสิงค์โปร์เองก็มีเครื่องบินบรรทุกน้ำมันอยู่พอสมควร ดังนั้นสามารถที่จะขึ้นบินแบบโหลดอาวุธเต็มที่แต่ใส่น้ำมันไปน้อยแล้วไปเติมเอากลางอากาศก็ได้ ทำให้สามารถลดระยะทางวิ่งได้อีก