Page 108 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

108 AIR POWER REGIONAL CAPABILITIES
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
ballistic missiles complicate any third par- ty intervention in the event of a renewal of hostilities, particularly given North Korea is believed to be trying to fit these with nuclear warheads.
South Korea’s priority is therefore to nullify the possible effects of the North’s missiles and rockets, and the more conser- vative Yoon administration has dusted off earlier plans to conduct massive retalia- tory strikes on North Korea in the event of missile attacks on the south.
The plans, dubbed the Kill Chain, will
see South Korea respond with rapid strikes
on North Korean missile launchers, stor-
age facilities and even decapitation strikes
against regime figures in the event of an
attack or even pre-emptive action if the threat was deemed to be nuclear.
The ROKAF’s F-35s will no doubt play a crucial role in any such action, and South Korea is continuing to improve its own ISR capabilities for persistent surveillance of its northern neighbour. In November 2021 Korea Aerospace Industries was tapped for systems integration and ground
NIGEL PITTAWAY
“SOUTH KOREA IS ALSO DEVELOPING ITS OWN FIFTH GENERATION CAPABILITIES”
equipment for a new surveil- lance aircraft based on the Das- sault Falcon 2000LXS business jet which will enter service from 2026 onwards, to replace four old- er Hawker 800XP (RC-800SIG) ISR aircraft currently being oper- ated by the ROKAF.
immediate neighbours Indonesia and Malaysia has seen Singapore put a lot of emphasis on defence capability, and it is today one of the most (if not the most) capable militar- ies in Southeast Asia.
It also has close ties with the US and has several train- ing detachments of aircraft based there due to the lack of training airspace back home. This will also be the case of its F-35Bs, with Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkan- sas, having been selected to host a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) F-35 training detachment when these are delivered from 2026.
The F-35B, with its networking capabilities, will be inte- grated into Singapore’s bespoke Island Air Defence System (IADS), which integrates Singapore’s air defence capabili- ties into a network covering the 700 square kilometre is- land. The systems include its air defence radars, F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, and ground-based air defence systems such as the Spyder and Aster 30 surface to air missiles.
One of Singapore’s main defence concerns is an adver- sary using mobile rocket or short-range ballistic missiles against the densely-urbanised island during a conflict, and the Singaporean military has put in a lot of effort into what it calls Sense and Strike capabilities against mobile, time- sensitive targets, utilising a range of sensors ranging from Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) radars to persistent Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to monitor possible launch areas.
The choice of the STOVL F-35B was also partially driven by worries of such rocket/missile barrages knocking out Sin- gapore’s air bases, which will be reduced from four to three by the end of the decade. The F-35’s ability to take off from runways less than 183 metres (600 ft) will enable the RSAF to generate airpower without the need for long runways.
It also opens up the possibility for Singapore to disperse its air operations in times of conflict by building and op- erating F-35Bs from smaller, dispersed airstrips, although the country, which is typically extremely secretive with the military, has yet to publicly state it is looking at doing so. ■
ABOVE: Singapore is acquiring the STOVL F-35B, which is able to operate from very short runways
This will add to four RC-800RA Peace Krypton aircraft fi ted with synthetic aperture ra- dars and moving target indicators, two Dassault Falcon 2000S Baekdu ISR aircraft, four Boeing E-7 Peace Eye Air- borne Early Warning and Control aircraft (similar to the RAAF’s Wedgetail) and four Northrop-Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk High-Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) un-
crewed aircraft.
The RoKAF is also seeking more AEW&C aircraft to
bolster its fleet of E-7s, while the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) is taking delivery of six Boeing P-8A Poseidon Multi-Mission Aircraft, which has its own onboard ISR suite.
SINGAPORE: ISLAND FORTRESS
Nearer to Australia, the small island nation of Singapore is also acquiring 5th generation capabilities. It has US State Department approval to acquire up to 12 STOVL F-35Bs to replace its fleet of 60 F-16s starting from 2030, with more aircraft expected to be acquired in line with its usual policy of making its major defence acquisitions in separate batches.
The small island state, which is smaller than metropoli- tan Melbourne but with a population just shy of 6 million, is nevertheless economically well-off, due in a large part to its deepwater port sitting astride the maritime trade routes between East Asia and the Middle East/Europe.
Its strategic location, lack of strategic depth (due to its small size) and sometimes tense relationship with its larger