Singapore Air Force F-16 jet crashes after takeoff

A Singapore Air Force F-16 jet crashed during takeoff at a military airbase, the Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.

The plane experienced "an issue" during take-off at about 12.35 pm, it added. "The pilot successfully ejected and the plane crashed thereafter within Tengah Air Base," the ministry said. "The pilot is conscious and able to walk. He is receiving medical attention. No other personnel are hurt."

Photo Credit: X/NahBabyNah

The ministry said investigations are ongoing, adding that it will provide updates on the incident as soon as they become available. Singapore has operated the F-16 for more than 30 years, according to a Channel News Asia report.

In May 2004, an RSAF F-16C aircraft crashed during a night training mission in the US state of Arizona, killing the 25-year-old Singaporean pilot who was initially reported missing. A board of inquiry concluded that the incident was due to human factors, saying the pilot could have experienced gravity-induced loss of consciousness or spatial disorientation, which resulted in his inability to recover the aircraft from an inverted position.

Singapore's F-16 fleet was recently upgraded to improve their capabilities and keep them operationally ready until the mid-2030s, according to the Channel report. These improvements include the Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar which allows the F-16 to track and engage multiple targets from farther away, as well as an all-weather, ground-attack capability that enables it to strike targets with more capable precision munitions.

The F-16 fleet will eventually be replaced by the F-35 family of Lockheed Martin jets, said the channel report. Singapore announced in February that it would buy eight F-35A jets, adding to an earlier order of 12 F-35 jets of the “B” variant.