While speaking at the parliamentary debate speech today (2 March), Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen announced that the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) would increase the scale and complexity of some of its overseas training.

This would include new combined training areas that would house next-generation facilities like combined arms air-land ranges and urban operations as well as live firing facilities, which allows the SAF to conduct mass scale, air-land live firing across its services.

According to the Minister, “For conventional operations, the SAF aims to have the best training facilities globally,” adding that the training facility in Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Australia, is set to be ready for use in 2024.

The Defence Minister explained that this will be combined with the new Greenvale Training Area, which would be completed in 2028. Together, the new training area would be 10 times the size of Singapore. The facilities therein would be used train approximately 14,000 soldiers and 2,400 vehicles over 18 weeks in a year.

“In essence, when completed, we can conduct complex training on a much larger scale, that only few militaries are able to, elsewhere,” Dr Ng said.

Dr Ng also explained that there was a temporary hold on the construction activity at SWBTA due to the bush fires that raged Australia this year. “So, we are watching it very careful and if we have to make adjustments, we’ll have to,” he said.

Dr Ng had also revealed that there would be a training detachment facility in Guam by 2029. The Minister elaborated that Singapore would deploy its F-15SGs, F-16s and supporting assets in an airspace more than 80 times the size of Singapore, allowing larger scale and more complex live firing training.

Earlier today, the Defense Minister shared a tweet on Singapore’s purchase of four F-35B fighter jets, with an option to buy eight more, for training and in-depth evaluation.

“The F-35B performed in the recent Singapore Airshow and its ability to swivel 360 degrees was simply, as some people said, awesome,” he said. “But it can have a full suite of sensors and fighting capabilities.”

The Minister said that Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) is in the final stages of the purchase after getting the green light from the US government and Congress, adding that he hopes to take delivery of the jets around 2026.

 

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

Minister of Manpower: Total employment rose by 19,500 in 23 key industries from 2015 to 2018

On 6 January (Monday), The Minister of State for Manpower, Zaqy Mohamad…

音乐会上晕倒后送院不治 著名钢琴家巫漪丽逝世

以一曲《梁祝》在优管(YouTube)上爆红的中国钢琴家巫漪丽,于4月20日,出席维多利亚音乐厅的音乐会时晕倒,紧急送院后宣告不治,享年89岁。 在音乐会下半场进行到一半时,巫漪丽忽然开始觉得背痛、冒冷汗,随后在新加坡音乐家协会副秘书唐翎的帮助下到洗手间去。岂知,她在上厕所途中晕倒了。救伤车在当晚约10时抵达音乐厅后,即刻对巫漪丽展开急救工作,之后再将她送到医院去,但是已经回天乏术了。 除了唐翎,新加坡音乐家协会会长傅春安和该协会的副秘书长贺争也赶到医院去,见巫漪丽的最后一面。傅春安表示巫漪丽的离去很突然,令人感到不舍,但是她也算善终,走得没有痛苦,而且当时很多音乐界的人士都陪伴在她的身旁。 据唐翎指出,巫漪丽曾于上周五与新中两位元老级声乐家陈毓申(86岁)和孙家馨(91岁)会面用餐,当时她并没有不妥。而事发当晚的音乐会,就是陈毓申(86岁)和孙家馨(91岁)的学生音乐会,由唐翎负责接送巫漪丽。 巫漪丽持有美国护照,已旅居新加坡26年了,孑然一身无子女,在新加坡只有一个表姐,但是她的表姐已经在一年多前去世了。而在中国北京,巫漪丽还有一名92岁的哥哥和87岁的妹妹。唐翎表示,“已经和巫老师的亲属联络上了。他们年纪大了,但是正设法办签证,希望能够尽快赶过来。” 一生奉献音乐 巫漪丽于1930年出生在中国上海一个知识分子的家庭中,是从钢琴大师李斯特的在传弟子、意大利著名音乐家梅百器。她18岁时就与上海交响乐团合作,演出贝多芬的《第一号钢琴协奏曲》。 她在1993年时,获得本地女高音苏燕卿的引介,首次来到新加坡,现在已经成为了新加坡的永久居民。 巫漪丽一生奉献音乐,就算年迈了还十分活跃于音乐界,经常担任演出嘉宾,而且不中断钢琴教学。她在音乐界的努力耕耘,甚至为他赢得了2017年在香港颁发的第五届“世界杰出华人艺术家大奖”。 她的突然离世,加上在本地无亲无故,本地音乐家协会主动负起她的丧礼。有关的丧礼已经决定在明天举行,周末出殡,但是为了寻获能容纳众多音乐界人士的较大场地,所以暂时场地未定。该协会也计划在丧礼期间,每天举办小型音乐会,作为巫漪丽最好的送别方式。 认识巫漪丽超过20年的傅春安表示,他非常尊重巫漪丽,并表示该协会能够为巫漪丽尽到最后的心音感到很安慰。他甚至表示,如果丧礼资金不足,他也会自掏腰包支付所有余款。 热爱音乐支持行善…

$130 million disbursed to about 87,000 beneficiaries under ComCare in 2015

Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has announced that the Government’s…

Singapore’s many weaknesses

By Eddie Choo Our global orientation and openness is our great strength…