F-15SGs for RSAF

As reported in The Straits Times today, 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, at a US airbase in Idaho on Wednesday. The planes are part of the RSAF's 428th Fighter Squadron, also known as the "Buccaneers". The unit at the Mountain Home airbase will house up to 12 F-15 jets, along with 300 RSAF pilots and ground crew, as well as their families.

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, racking up a combat record of 101 victories and zero losses in 30 years of air battles worldwide.

The planes are part of a on-going push to modernise the Singapore military, which also launched the navy's latest stealth warships in January (which was covered in an earlier post here).

The pilots would most likely be wearing what Tom Cruise wore as a US Navy Aviator LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in the movie "Top Gun (1986)" where he rose to fame (pictures here).

Even ex-US President George W Bush donned the pilot's gear when he went onto the USS Lincoln on May 1, 2003 (pictures of a 1/6 scale 12-inch figure of George W Bush here)