Ground commanders will have much better view of battlefield
using unmanned aerial vehicles
SMALLER units in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will now have
their own eyes in the sky.
These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fly over the battlefield,
transmitting
live video images of enemy forces back to SAF commanders.
Once available only to commanders at the division level or higher,
the SAF
plans to equip infantry and armour battalions with UAVs, after
battlefield
experiments showed their usefulness in urban combat and
conventional battles.
A division has thousands of men and consists of about nine
battalions.
Now, with these hand-launched drones circling overhead, individual
battalion commanders will have a much better view of the
battlefield. They can see what's behind the next hill or next
street for example, pinpoint exact enemy locations and respond to
impending attacks from the enemy.
The images can even be beamed live to other friendly forces nearby,
to keep
them updated on the overall situation.
These UAVs are part of the battlefield experiments being carried
out
throughout the SAF, to test sensors, weapons and systems for a
third-generation
(3G) SAF, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday.
The SAF's drive to link soldiers in an intelligent network is
called
Integrated Knowledge-based Command and Control (IKC2).
The joke among soldiers is that IKC2 stands for 'I can see too' -
but the
experiments under the SAF's push to build a more lethal fighting
force is
serious business.
'Our warfighters can see first and see more, understand faster and
better,
and decide better and faster. This will allow them to act
decisively in
battle,' said chief signals officer, Colonel Lee Shiang Long.
The Headquarters Signals organised a week-long exhibition at
Stagmont Camp
in Choa Chu Kang to show SAF servicemen what IKC2 is all
about.
Apart from UAVs of various types and sizes, an assortment of
sensors and
equipment which the SAF is experimenting with were also on display.
About
10,000 SAF servicemen had been to the exhibition by the time it
ended
yesterday.
The SAF unveiled some of its improved fighting machines to
the media for the first time as well, including the locally-made
Bionix infantry fighting
vehicle.
The upgunned Bionix has an improved turret and more firepower with
a 30mm Bushmaster II cannon and a 7.62mm machine gun. Current
Bionix vehicles are fitted with the smaller 25mm
cannon.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean toured the
exhibits yesterday and said the
SAF would conduct a '3G exercise' in November for the first time in
California.
Codenamed Exercise Forging Sabre, it is scheduled to involve
F-16C/D
warplanes, attack choppers, drones, and the commandos.
Mr Teo said: 'It will be able to let the commanders and soldiers
feel what
it is like to operate all the systems together.'
STimes 17.09.2005
