Singapore is about to do something only a handful of air forces on Earth can claim: fly a fifth-generation stealth fighter. After years of paperwork, options and parliamentary debate, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is on track to take delivery of its first F-35 from late 2026 — punching the city-state's ticket into the exclusive stealth club.

But here's the nuance most headlines skip: those first jets won't be screaming over Singapore's skies on day one. They — and the pilots who'll fly them — start their service life in Arkansas.

What Singapore actually ordered

The numbers are worth getting right, because there are two variants in play. Singapore has committed to 20 F-35s total: 12 F-35Bs — the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (STOVL) jump-jet variant — plus 8 F-35As, the conventional runway version.

The B came first. Singapore signed for an initial four F-35Bs in 2020, then exercised the option for eight more, bringing the STOVL fleet to a dozen. In 2024, then Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen announced the additional eight F-35As. The STOVL jets lead the delivery queue: the first four F-35Bs are expected from late 2026, the remaining eight in 2028, with the eight F-35As arriving around 2030.

Why the first jets land in Arkansas, not Singapore

This is the part to read carefully. The first F-35Bs are not being delivered to Singapore. They'll be based at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas — a designated F-35 Foreign Military Sales pilot training centre — where RSAF pilots will learn the jet from qualified US Air Force instructors before any aircraft comes home.

The F-35B’s party piece: a vertical takeoff test. This is the STOVL variant Singapore is buying. (Lockheed Martin)

Chief of Air Force Major-General Kelvin Fan laid it out plainly on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow 2026:

The jets are expected to make their way to Tengah Air Base in Singapore's west from around 2029, per a Lockheed Martin briefing — though MINDEF has stressed that the local delivery timeline and basing will be guided by the overall project schedule and training requirements. Tengah is being expanded westward with the specialised hangars and secure support infrastructure that stealth jets demand.

A minister, a marker pen, and a wing

The programme hit a symbolic milestone in September 2025, when Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing visited Lockheed Martin's production line in Fort Worth, Texas, and signed the wing of Singapore's first F-35 as it took shape on the factory floor.

What it means for Singapore's skies

For a country roughly the size of a large city, the F-35 is a force multiplier. Stealth, fused sensors and networked targeting let a small fleet punch far above its weight — and the B's STOVL capability means Singapore can disperse aircraft and operate from short or damaged strips if a main runway is ever knocked out. That's a serious consideration for a nation with limited land and few airfields.

The F-35s won't replace everything overnight. The RSAF's F-16s are slated to soldier on into the mid-2030s with midlife upgrades, and the future fighter fleet will be a mix of F-35As, F-35Bs and the existing F-15SGs. Singapore has also hinted that more F-35s beyond the current 20 could follow.

For now, the headline stands with one honest asterisk: Singapore is joining the stealth club. The membership card just gets stamped in Arkansas first.

Sources: MINDEF Singapore (Sep 2025); Asian Military Review (Feb 2026); Defense News; The Diplomat; European Security & Defence.