SAF holds largest overseas drill involving 6,200 troops in Australia

About 6,200 Singapore soldiers are flying helicopters, driving tanks and operating new high-tech machinery in the SAF's largest ever unilateral overseas exercise in Shoalwater Bay, Australia.

- Ng Wei Kai

Joining the annual drill, known as Exercise Wallaby, for the first time are three updated pieces of hardware - the H225M helicopter, the Hunter Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) and the ground-based air defence system surface-to-air Python-5 and Derby (Spyder).

This time, about 35 servicemen from the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) newest service, the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), will also take part.

The DIS was formed in 2022 to combat the increased threat of cyber attacks and disinformation. Its participation is a milestone in the SAF's transformation into a next-generation fighting force, said Chief Armour Officer and SAF lead for the exercise, Colonel Lim Han Yong.

Speaking to the media in a camp in Shoalwater Bay, COL Lim added that this is a step forward in demonstrating and strengthening interoperability between services - referring to the ability of different services like the Army and the Air Force to work together.