The F-15SG fighter jets are armed with the most advanced air-to-air missiles and the sharpest sensors outside the United States. -- PHOTO: AP
THE Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has received its first four F-15SG fighter jets, armed with the most advanced air-to-air missiles and the sharpest sensors outside the United States.
RSAF personnel and their US counterparts greeted the first batch of jets, bearing RSAF colours, which arrived at a US airbase in Idaho on Wednesday. The planes are part of the Republic's 428th Fighter Squadron, which will go operational in the next few months. Work has been ongoing since last October to get the training unit off the ground and in the air.
Also known as the Buccaneers, the unit at the Mountain Home airbase will house up to 12 F-15 jets, along with more than 300 RSAF pilots and ground crew, as well as their families.
A Defence Ministry statement said the RSAF pilots were previously flying the F-15E Strike Eagle jets of the US Air Force (USAF) at the Seymour Johnson Airbase in North Carolina.
The Singapore-US training arrangement is expected to last from five to 20 years. The F-15 jet is considered one of the top fighter planes in the world. It has racked up a combat record of 101 victories and zero losses in 30 years of air battles worldwide.
Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.
