SAF Exercise in US Features More Drones, Real-Time Software Updates

Drill tests military's integrated 'sense and strike' capabilities in complex scenarios

- Gabrielle Chan

MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho - Singapore's armed forces will deploy drones to a much larger extent in an ongoing overseas training exercise, which allows soldiers to hone their war-fighting skills in realistic, modern scenarios.

From micro mini drones to the Heron 1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a total of 24 drones will be deployed in 2025's Exercise Forging Sabre - one of the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) most complex overseas drills. The previous edition in 2023 involved 11 drones.

Making their debut is a new team of software developers from a military start-up within the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Known as Raid - RSAF Agile Innovation Digital - the team develops digital solutions and analyses data to help the SAF strike its targets more quickly and accurately.

The biennial exercise - in its 10th iteration - runs from Sept 6 to 21 at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, where the airspace for the training area is more than 20 times the size of Singapore.

Exercise Forging Sabre tests the SAF's integrated "sense and strike" capabilities in complex, realistic scenarios. The term refers to the SAF's ability to detect threats quickly, decide on a response, and take precise action.

More than 800 personnel are involved in the 2025 exercise, which brings together air and ground assets from the RSAF, the Singapore Army and the Digital and Intelligence Service to train and validate advanced military technology.