Doing More With Less

Two key factors are driving the modernisation of Singapore’s armed forces: increasing regional security concerns and declining national birth rates. In this context, the modernisation of the armed forces hinges upon multimission platforms, networked soldiers and robotics.

- Alix Valenti

Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Singapore’s minister for defence, concluded his address to the Committee of Supply Debate on 3rd March 2017, with the following words: “The most dependable guarantee of our independence is a strong Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). A strong SAF, in turn, depends on the political will to make the effort and pay the price.” The Committee of Supply is a committee comprising the whole of the Singapore parliament which considers each ministry’s requests for budget, and votes on this request accordingly. Dr. Ng’s words were attributed to Dr. Goh Keng Swee, Singapore first minister of defence from 1965 until 1979 who built a strong local defence force by implementing compulsory national service for all male Singaporeans aged 18 and above.

One major challenge facing Singapore is the country’s declining birth rate which, over the past two decades, has significantly reduced the manpower available to the SAF. Official statistics state that Singapore had 1.8 births per woman in 1990, which has since fallen to 1.2 births per woman in 2012. However, Singapore has been making the effort and paying the price to build a ‘next generation’ military focused on highly trained and technologically advanced soldiers. From new departments and Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training grounds to defence procurement, the Singapore Army, Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) are undergoing significant modernisation.

Singapore Army