Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-35A Lightning II fighters flew alongside Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) jets during Exercise Bersama Lima 2026, which took place in Singapore from October 5 to 23, 2026.
The annual exercise is held under the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) and brings together forces from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. According to Singapore’s Ministry of Defence, this year’s edition involved about 1,900 personnel, 42 aircraft, seven ships and one submarine.
Mixed formations with Singapore’s fighters
The RAAF’s No. 3 Squadron (3SQN) operated its F-35As from Paya Lebar Air Base in eastern Singapore. Its flying program included defensive and offensive counter-air missions with other participants, as well as air-to-air refueling over water from an RSAF A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport.
The Australian pilots flew in mixed formations with RSAF F-15SG and F-16C/D fighters. “I think it’s really obvious to me that we’re aligned in how we do things, and an exercise like this is just great in increasing that interoperability,” said Flight Lieutenant Max, a 3SQN pilot, in comments published by the RAAF’s Air Force News. In line with RAAF practice, his surname was not released.
Each sortie began the day before the mission with planning and rehearsals. On mission days, crews from the participating nations attended a multinational briefing before the RAAF pilots held their own briefing and met the maintenance team.
About 1,900 personnel from the five FPDA nations took part in Exercise Bersama Lima 2026, featuring the first land-based UAS deployment by all five and the RSN’s Invincible-class submarine. The exercise ran from 5–23 Oct. More: https://t.co/401zYFgopL https://t.co/l2Q0Dl7IMp
— Ministry of Defence (@mindefsg) October 23, 2026
The work behind each sortie
Ground crews prepared the jets before each flight and inspected them on their return. “We’ll come in an hour or so before the actual flight time, and we’ll remove all the red gear off the aircraft and set it up, turn everything on, make sure it’s fully safe for the pilot to hop in and just help them start up,” said Leading Aircraftwoman Lillian Aboody Fischer, an aircraft technician with 3SQN.
After each mission, the team marshaled the jets to their parking positions, helped the pilots shut down and checked the aircraft for any damage. Pilots then passed their observations to the maintainers before debriefing the mission and identifying lessons for the next flight.
According to the RAAF, the team also had to adapt to Singapore’s equatorial heat and work with equipment brought over from Australia. 3SQN has deployed crews and jets to Singapore since 1969, but newer members still gained from the experience. For Aboody Fischer, Bersama Lima was her first international deployment. “It’s really cool being able to work alongside the Republic of Singapore Air Force,” she said.
Flight Lieutenant Max said the support behind each sortie gave pilots confidence in their aircraft and their team. “Most people here are working behind the scenes to get the jets and get everything ready, whether it’s maintenance, intelligence, logistics, admin or medical,” he said.
The FPDA was established in 1971 as a consultative defense arrangement among the five nations. More than 50 years on, exercises such as Bersama Lima continue to give the partners regular opportunities to plan, train and operate together.