The tenth Singapore Airshow held a media preview at the Changi Exhibition Centre on February 1, ahead of the main event running from February 3 to 8. The flypast programme featured a mix of combat and commercial types — notably an Australian Royal Australian Air Force F-35A, a Singapore Army AH-64D Apache, an F-16C, a Malaysian Su-30MKM and a COMAC C919 airliner — signalling the show’s dual focus on defence diplomacy and civil aerospace commerce.
The presence of an F-35A alongside regional types such as the Su-30MKM and legacy F-16s underscores how the airshow functions as a visible forum for interoperability and strategic signalling. Singapore’s own Apache displays reaffirm the city-state’s emphasis on a robust, modern deterrent, while participating air forces use the event to demonstrate readiness, training standards and technology to potential partners and buyers.
Equally significant was the appearance of China’s COMAC C919, which illustrates Beijing’s ongoing push to internationalise its indigenous commercial aviation industry. The C919’s public demonstration at a major Asian aviation trade fair is both a marketing exercise and a test of export appeal, coming as airlines and lessors weigh alternatives to Boeing and Airbus amid supply-chain realignments and geopolitical pressures.
Beyond spectacle, the airshow is a marketplace where defence contracts, civil aircraft orders and supply‑chain deals are quietly advanced. For a region balancing great‑power competition and commercial ties with China, the event is an annual barometer: who shows what, and who talks to whom. Expect the coming days of the airshow to generate memoranda of understanding, commercial negotiations, and low‑key defence engagements that will be closely watched by industry analysts and regional capitals alike.