US approves sale of P-8s, torpedoes to Singapore
Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. (Boeing)
The US government has approved a multibillion-dollar sale of new Boeing P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft for Singapore as well as a small batch of air-launched Mk 54 lightweight torpedoes.
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on 20 January that the US Department of State approved a Singapore government request to procure four P-8A aircraft and eight Mk 54 MOD 0 lightweight torpedoes all up rounds (AURs) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.
The announcement comes four months after Singapore's Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing reported his government's decision to procure the Poseidon aircraft, following a September 2025 meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in Washington, DC.
The Poseidons, which constitute phase one of the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) refresh of its maritime security capabilities, will replace the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF's) current fleet of five Fokker 50 maritime patrol aircraft, according to the Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF). The Fokker 50s were inducted into service from 1993.
Key systems
The proposed sale also includes seven Guardian laser transmitter assemblies as well as seven system processors (with selective availability of anti-spoofing modules) for the P-8A's AN/AAQ-24(V)N distributed aperture infrared countermeasures (DAIRCM) system, according to DSCA.
Associated P8A-related systems approved for sale include tactical open mission software; MX-20HD electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) systems; missile warning sensors for the AN/AAQ-24(V)N, AN/AQQ-2(V) acoustic systems; AN/APY-10 radar systems (with GPS); ALQ-213 early warning management systems; KIV-78 cryptographic appliques; AN/APX-123A identification friend-or-foe (IFF) transmitters; AN/ALE-47 countermeasures dispenser system (CMDS) programmers; and AN/PYQ-10 simple key loaders.
The proposed sale has an estimated cost of USD2.316 billion, DSCA said on 20 January.
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