Gallery: Defense Editor's Picks From Singapore Airshow

A Chengdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 is often over-shadowed on the AVIC exhibit booth by models of the the company’s more advanced fighters, such as the Chengdu J-10CE and stealthy Shenyang FC-31. But the JF-17 model is shown with a fascinating load-out emphasizing the fighter’s ultra-long-range firepower. The displayed armament on each wing includes a wingtip-mounted, heat-seeking PL-8 missile; a pair of long-range, radar-guided PL-15Es and the CM-401AKG air-launched ballistic missile. All of the missiles have been cleared for export on the JF-17. 

Malaysia’s Sukhoi Su-30MKM on the static display offers an increasingly rare glimpse of Russian and Western technology co-existing on the same program. On the wings of this two-seat Flanker are Russia’s Kh-31 air-to-surface missile and radar-guided R-77 air-to-air missile. Attached to a belly station on the right side of the fuselage is the Thales Damocles targeting pod, a French sensor likely intended to identify targets for the Kh-31. Malaysia’s arsenal includes the anti-shipping Kh-31A and anti-radiation Kh-31P variants.

A dangling model of the OA-1K Sky Warden marks the Singapore Airshow debut of the L3Harris/AirTractor platform 18 months after the armed overwatch system entered development for U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command. The militarized variant of the AT-802 crop-duster is well-known in the Asia-Pacific region, as the L3 had previously marked the rugged combat system under the AT-802U Sky Warden branding.

Elbit Systems plans to take the wraps-off a new uncrewed aircraft system on Feb. 21, but until then the yellow shroud that covers the new aircraft reveals a few clues. The new UAS is sized to fit between Elbit’s Hermes 450 and 900 products. Unlike those aircraft featuring a tail-mounted engine, the new UAS is designed with an engine in the nose. The new UAS has a long, straight wing and a single tail. 

As the latest addition to Rafael’s line-up of missile interceptors, a mock-up of the SkySonic hypersonic defense system is making a debut appearance at the Singapore Airshow. Rafael unveiled the SkySonic concept design at the Paris Airshow last year. The missile features a two-stage design, with a powered kill vehicle in the upper-stage. 

Judging by the name of the pilot of the F-35B that adorns the side of the Lockheed Martin chalet, it seems someone in the company’s marketing team is a Star Wars fan. Maj. O.B. “Old Ben” Kenobi sometimes may use The Force to hover or land vertically, but in this photo he appears to be using the Rolls-Royce Lift Fan, along with the roll-post nozzles and the three-bearing swivel nozzle of the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine.