Singapore has short-listed the F-15E, Dassault Aviation's Rafale and the Eurofighter's Typhoon to replace 20 Skyhawks, with the trio carrying out intense lobbying at this week's Asian Aerospace event here for the contract.

Industry analysts say the Singapore government has urged the three companies to avoid public discussions about the details of their offers, but that did not stop Boeing from giving a hard sell of its plane.

Thomas Lillis, Asia Pacific director of Boeing's integrated defense system, said the F-15E was clearly superior to its rivals

"The aircraft has proven itself in combat," Lillis told a press conference, citing the recent Iraq War in which 48 F-15Es destroyed 60 percent of then-president Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard division.

"It brings you range, it brings you speed. So we're faster, we go further and we carry more (weapons)... from a customer who wants to use this airplane either as a deterrent or actual combat, it's pretty lethal.

"The question is what airplane would you not like to have your competitor flying? I wouldn't like them to have the F-15 because I would not like to go up against them."

Lillis, a former US Air Force fighter pilot, said the F-15E had superior maneuvering capabilities and longer range than its rivals, as well as heavier weapons payload of up to 29,000 pounds.

The power of its vertical thrust is the same as that of the space shuttle and it has the best safety record of any US Air Force fighter aircraft at 0.9 percent loss per 100,000 flight hours, he said.

Lillis added the F-15E would be the primary deep strike weapon system of the US Air Force beyond 2030.

The executives of Dassault Aviation or the Eurofighter have yet to make public comments at the Asian Aerospace, the region's premier aviation show.

But the Rafale is among those set to dazzle the Singapore skies in a series of aerobatic displays this week. The Typhoon has set up a mock-up version for exhibition.

South Korea in 2002 selected the F-15K -- an enhanced version of the F-15E Strike Eagle -- as its next generation fighter in a contract involving 40 planes. Deliveries will start in March 2005.

Singapore, which has one of Asia's most modern armed forces, is expected to make a decision on its choice of fighter aircraft by early 2005, defense officials have said.

Lilles said two F-15E fighters leased from the US Air Force had been flown into Singapore for evaluation tests set to begin after the Asian Aerospace ends on Sunday.

"All three competitors will be involved in the test and evaluation sometime between now and the fall," Lillis said.

"We've got two airplanes here, we're gonna keep them here until we finish with the evaluation and then take them home."

Lillis told AFP that aside from Singapore and South Korea, there have been no expressions of interest from other countries in the Asia Pacific for the

Beyond the two countries, "I'm not sure what the probabilities are out here. There are so many airplanes that are on the international market."

SPACE.WIRE