In a move to deepen the defence ties between the United States and Singapore, the Republic of Singapore Airforce (RSAF) will set up a fighter training detachment in Guam. The countries inked the agreement on Friday, December 6. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and his US counterpart, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
The Singapore Ministry of Defence said that the agreement was reached following several studies conducted with the US which was based on a number of factors including the suitability of the training area, infrastructure and other types of support. It also said that the vast airspace will allow RSAF to conduct realistic training.
RSAF Training detachments
Singapore had been dependent on countries like France, Australia, and the US because of the constraints in the country. This would be the fourth detachment on the US territory after the Peace Carvin II F-16 fighter detachment at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, Peace Carvin V F-15SG fighter detachment at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho and Peace Vanguard AH-64 Apache helicopter detachment at Marana, Arizona.
The country's ministry of defence said that the overseas detachments serve the training needs for operational readiness of Singapore. There are other fighter deployments in Guam such as Australia, India and Thailand which Singapore sees as a key point in the quick redeployment of assets back to the country when required.
The MINDEF said that the Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper talked about the "excellent and long-standing defence relationship" between Singapore and the US.
