Washington has recently approved a proposed US$22.3 million sale of additional Hellfire missiles to Singapore, with the US State Department declaring that the transfer and associated arms support “will not alter the basic military balance in the region”.
While observers say the sale is a routine purchase by the city state for training and to replenish an advanced arsenal, America’s language on the move signals a broader strategy to strengthen a network of US allies and partners while avoiding the optics of an “escalatory leap”.
On June 30, the department said it had approved the potential sale of 24 additional AGM-114R missiles and related equipment as well as the provision of support services, bringing the total to 67 such missiles for Singapore.
Hellfire missiles are precision weapons for air-to-ground targeting manufactured by American giant Lockheed Martin.
Singapore’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Wednesday that the ministry and the country’s armed forces took “a strategic long-term view on our defence acquisitions to ensure that we make prudent and cost-effective decisions that best meet our defence needs”. The missiles will be equipped on the Singapore Air Force’s AH-64D Apache helicopters.
Washington wants capable partners that can operate alongside US forces and assume greater responsibility for regional security, according to Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.