JANES
AN ARTICLE FROM INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE REVIEW MAY 01, 2005
Singapore's defense industry builds on a tough-minded approach to
procurement
By Mark Daly
Singapore spends by far the largest single part of its national
budget on defense - between 4.5 per cent and five per cent of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in recent years - with the government
committed to spending up to six per cent, according to figures
given to the parliament in March this year (2005). In 2004, the
figure was estimated by one source to be 5.27 per cent of GDP,
equivalent to US$5.03 billion. Unofficial estimates put defense
spending at as much as 27-29 per cent of the overall national
spending each year since 2001. SIPRI, the Stockholm International
Peace Institute, gives US$4.733 billion as the defense spend for
2003.
As a wealthy and stable nation, Singapore can justify a national
defense industry for carefully selected systems and
self-sufficiency in key areas, but at the same time, the Ministry
of Defense (MINDEF) follows a strict policy of 'best sourcing'.
There has been no move to produce anything approaching an
across-the-board strategic industrial capability, and neither
MINDEF nor its agency organization DSTA (Defense Science and
Technology Agency) would attempt to do so merely for reasons of
prestige.
Since the establishment of the Future Systems Directorate in
February 2003, which plays an integral part of the Singapore Armed
Forces strategy for force transformation, Singapore has an agency
that conducts experiments, which will have a powerful interest in
future, technologies, which are seen as key enablers for superior
fighting concepts.
Singapore's leading defense industries are all grouped within
Singapore Technologies Engineering Group (ST Engg), which is 57 per
cent state-owned. The latest figures released in March show a
turnover for fiscal year 2004 of S$2.9 billion (US$I.7 billion).
All companies in the group handle both defense and civil work, and
the latest annual report says that commercial contributions
overtook revenues from the defense sector for the first time in
2004, amounting to 51 per cent of total revenues (compared to 45
per cent in 2003). The company has 11,600 employees globally.
One ST Engg executive tells IDR: "We have reached a stage where we
do not mind investing beyond Singapore's own needs," but defense
programmes are still largely generated by the requirements of the
Singapore Armed Forces. ST Engg has more than 100 subsidiaries and
associated companies. A handful of other Singapore-based companies
base defense interests, mostly as suppliers to ST Engg.
Making the grade
An example of the tough-minded approach to procurement can be seen
in the current fighter procurement competition to choose between
the F-15, Rafale and Typhoon. Offsets to local industry will not
influence the selection, according to the president of ST
Aerospace. The company plays an advisory role in the selection.
Offsets are not considered a leading element of any Singaporean
offshore selection. MINDEF says that this approach and transparent
processes give Singapore a reputation as a 'reference
Customer, which carries particular weight, in the case of the
fighter competition, with other air forces and the aerospace
industry.
Geographical and manpower constraints also have a powerful
influence on Singapore's industry. In March this year, a government
minister gave parliament the example of how air grading for
prospective aircrew is outsourced to Tamworth in Australia, with
the MINDEF neither owning nor maintaining training aircraft.
A zero-growth policy in military manpower has been in effect for
nearly 20 years, largely influenced by Singapore's low birth rate.
This, in turn, has influenced development of systems such as the ST
Primus 155 mm self-propelled howitzer, which requires a crew of
only four conscripts. MINDEF claims a three-fold increase in
manpower productivity for artillery over the past 10 years, also
citing the locally made FH2000, which reduced the manning for a 155
mm system from 12 to eight men. The need to achieve lower manning
levels has influenced naval programmes such as the Endurance-class
LSTs.
ST Marine, which has yards at Benoi and Tuas (and, by acquisition
ofVT Halter, in the US), is working on six stealth frigates for the
Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN). These are being built in
collaboration with DCN International of France based on the La
Fayette class, but with significant changes and known as the
Formidable class.
The first vessel, built in France, is now fitting out, and in the
covered assembly sheds at its main yard at Benoi, hulls four and
five are in various stages of construction. Components exist for
the final vessel in class, which is scheduled to launch in
2008.
The second vessel, Intrepid, was launched in July 2004, and the
third, Steadfast, was launched in January this year. Complement is
71, with a high level of automation. The final vessel in the class
will launch in 2008 and commission in 2009. The combat management
system was developed indigenously by the DSTA, and runs from
Standard Operating Common Consoles supplied by the ST Electronics
company SES. The Integrated Communications system comes from
another ST Electronics company, CET.
Key milestones
Starting with a co-operative agreement with Lurssen Werft of
Germany to deliver four 45 m missile gun boats, independent design
capability was quickly developed by the 1980s, a key milestone
being the contract to design and build six 62 m missile corvettes,
the Victory class for the RSN.
ST Marine has since gained experience in stealth technology - RCS
(Radar Cross Section), RAM (Radar Absorbent Material) and infrared
[IR] signature reduction - partly in collaboration with partner ST
companies.
President of Naval Business Larry Loon says: "Our naval work falls
into two broad areas: stealth vessels of corvette size and fast
interceptors of 15-20 m up to 80 m is one area and the second is
multirole support vessels such as the 141 m LST and down to fast
small landing craft."
Twelve units of 55 m patrol vessel and four of the 141 m
Endurance-class LST are other recent projects. Both designed and
built for the RSN, the complement for the LST is 65 compared to 130
in previous-generation vessels in this category.
The patrol vessels, equipped with guns and an anti-submarine
warfare capability, were built and commissioned between 1995 and
1998.
ST Marine has extensive commercial shipbuilding interests, which
works to its advantage, says Loon. "The RSA does not have enough
business to keep all our capacity busy," he says. "Between the last
LST and the frigate, we put three platform supply vessels through
the yard." And after the frigates programme, the company says there
may be container vessels, for which a contact has already been
secured, taking their place in the covered berths at Benoi.
Flexibility is also practiced between new vessels and refit. "Some
people have hang-ups about mixing new build and repair in the same
yard, but we do not and we have done reasonably well at that," says
Loon.
Some submarine work has been carried out in tropicalisation of
Singapore's four former Swedish Sjoorman-class submarines, known
locally as the Challenger class.
Although the RSN has generated most of ST Marine's naval work,
exports have been made to navies and coast guards in Brunei, India,
Kuwait and Thailand. The Kuwait Coast Guard, for instance, ordered
the 43 m landing and supply craft and last year followed with a
design and build contract for a 49 m land supply craft. Technology
transfer from ST Marine was part of the contract for 45 m inshore
patrol vessels for the Indian Navy. Collaboration and joint
ventures are actively sought.
ST Marine has also developed the FBS 60 Floating Bridge System,
which is in service with the Singapore Armed Forces.
The days when the island of Singapore was the world's largest
supplier of computer hard disks are now a fairly distant memory.
Economic forces in the region constantly drew the manufacturing
base for large-volume items to Taiwan, then to South Korea on
onwards to China and Vietnam. Singapore has consequently moved up
the value chain.
"Singapore is not cheap anymore, our labour is not cheap," says
Patrick Choy, chief marketing officer for ST Kinetics.
Of all the ST Engg Group companies, ST Kinetics, with its 2,300
employees, is the one most dedicated to military programmes,
although it does handle non-defense work, with interests in
commercial automotive businesses in China and North America. The
company describes its move up the value chain as "an evolution of
capabilities". Starting with the licensed production of small arms
ammunition right after Singaporean independence, it quickly moved
to systems integration and upgrade work on armored vehicles in the
1980s. By the start of the 1990s, ST Kinetics' predecessor
companies were engaged in full-blown design and development of
infantry weapons systems, vehicles and artillery systems. Now the
emphasis lies on what is described as Systems of Systems
Engineering.
Advanced equipment
ST Kinetics continues to manufacture small arms and ammunition,
albeit advanced equipment such as the SAR 21 combat rifle, the
Super Rapid Automatic Grenade Launcher and air-bursting 40 mm
munitions for automatic grenade launchers. The programmable fuse
for the air-bursting munitions has built-in self-destruct, a
feature that the company says will prove increasingly important for
certain markets such as Scandinavian armies operating in snow.
Self-destruct fusing has also been applied to a 155 mm artillery
cargo shell. Plans for an Area Effects Weapon, Single Shot grenade
launcher were shown at the IDEX 2005 exhibition (see IDR 412005,
p21).
Another variation on the 40 mm theme is a newly introduced range of
less-than-Iethal rounds: sponge, paint and stinger versions to be
fired from all low-velocity grenade launchers, typically the ST
Kinetics CIS 40GL.
Weapons produced by ST Kinetics include the 120 mm Super Rapid
Advanced Mortar System, claimed to be the first with a recoil force
of less than 20 tonnes at maximum charge, for a wider range of
platforms and applications.
Starting with the FH2000/52 calibre howitzer, unveiled in 1990,
there has been a high level of activity in the field of artillery
systems and vehicles.
The latest is Primus, the self-propelled 155 mm/39 calibre
howitzer, in production against an order for 54 by the Singapore
Army.
The Bionix infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) entered service with the
Singapore Army in late 1997 and is built in IFV25 and IFV40/50
versions. A bridgelayer version is in service with the Singapore
Army alongside a recovery vehicle variant. Bionix is in full
production, although overall requirements or deliveries have not
been disclosed.
Bronco, an all-terrain tracked carrier in at least four variants,
is built for a Singapore Army requirement but is completing trials
with European countries. Bronco is seen by ST Kinetics as a basis
for future developments such as an active articulation system, with
the ability to quickly decouple the rear module and operate it as a
remotely piloted vehicle. Hybrid electric drive, based on
technology already established in some buses, is being investigated
for Bronco.
Hybrid electric drive is also reported to be an option for an
unmanned version of the Spider light strike vehicle for
reconnaissance in hazardous environments. The basic Spider has
completed trials in the United Arab Emirates.
Beyond Bronco, a Future All-Terrain Vehicle with a payload of seven
tonnes (compared to the Bronco's five tonnes) and a sustained
cross-country speed of 60 km/h over 500 km is being studied. A
feasibility contract was awarded by the Finnish Defense Forces last
year.
Terex A V81, an 8x8 IFV, was added to ST Kinetics' portfolio in
September 2003. It is the subject of a joint venture with Turkey's
Otokar..
ST Kinetics is also responsible for the Vision Ball surveillance
device, which has been described as an information grenade, and a
soft ground mobility system deploying vehicle, which dispenses
special high expansion ratio foam to generate a navigable surface,
is being studied.
Bringing all these systems together is ST Kinetics' Engineering
Development Centre, with 350 personnel working on integrated
solutions.
ST Electronics provides communication and sensor systems, including
electro-optics and software. It has training and simulation
products, and technology for the encryption of mobile
communications. Major contracts are often in the civil sector, with
large rail and traffic management projects.
Achieving synergy
Electronics is an area where synergy between military and civil
interests is often achieved, with a classic example being an IR
fever sensing system, adapted from an ST Electronics thermal imager
in 2003, for the screening of travellers for the symptoms of Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The system was developed in one
week in collaboration with the DSTA, and was quickly fielded at
ports of entry.
The example is useful because, in the words of ST Electronics'
President of Defense Business Lee Fook Sun: "We live in a world
where technology changes direction at the rate of 19, and
requirements tend to change at 9g."
For ST Electronics, the swift change of direction has been towards
homeland security and the development of specific systems for
countering 'new terrorism'.
In 2004, the company introduced MAPS - Maritime, Aviation and Port
Security - which was derived from the existing range of sensors and
systems
Another product from ST Electronics subsidiary Agilis is
Hyperion-M, a shelter-mounted mobile C/Ku-band radar system
intended to counter illegal vessels. It includes an electro-optical
system, a target tracker, an automatic identification system and a
microwave link. A tower-mounted version ofHyperion is also
marketed.
Agilis' commercial Very Small Aperture Terminals have found
military applications with the Oscmar Company in New Zealand for
training troops in the field with a high level of realism, which
included a broadband satellite communications system.
In March this year, Agilis showed its miniV, claimed to be the
world's smallest Very Small Aperture Terminal in its class, at the
Global Security Asia 2005 exhibition.
This satellite communications system permits simultaneous voice
telephony, video streaming and data transmission. It can fit into a
suitcase. The company claims that the miniV can be rapidly deployed
and operated in less than 10 minutes by one person.
Many of ST Electronics' products are in the category of dual-use or
paramilitary, an example of which is the Emergency Integrated
Communication System, which is essentially a communication system
for emergency services, bringing. Together mobile platforms, fixed
bases, networking and a range of radio interfaces.
Two mobile command vehicles have been developed by subsidiary CET:
the Expandable Command & Communication Vehicle and the Forward
Command Vehicle
Complementary Interests
ST Aerospace is the largest of ST Engg's defence-related companies,
employing nearly 4,500 people. Its operations are dominated by
civil activities, maintenance, overhaul and conversions for
airliners and engines. In some respects its defense interests are
complementary-one of the major projects from 2004 has been the
overhaul of US Pacific Air force C-130 Aircraft and the
refurbishment of 20 Philippines Air Force UH-1H helicopters
complete with a logistic package. Deliveries commenced last year
2004.
C-130 capability is comprehensive, with the overhaul of airframes
and F56 engines to the highest level, and including work up to
conversion to air fuelling tanker.
In the Fixed wing combat aircraft field, upgrades for A-4 and F-5
fighters have represented a good volume from Singapore Air Force
and from export customers such as Brazil and turkey. While those
aircraft remains in service, there will still be a market, albeit
diminishing.
Again building on national work to support and maintain Singapores
F-16 force, ST Aerospace offers the Falcon One series of upgrade
for the F-16, covering weapons, electronic warfare, navigation and
target and warning systems. The programme is based on offering
customers a choice of subsystems from suppliers from around the
world.
The company also offers a Super Puma door gun upgrade, providing
two manually operated 12.7 mm machines guns installed outside the
cabin doors, leaving full usable cabin space. The design can be
adapted for other types of helicopter.
In ST Aeros own military programmes, a significant area for the
future is unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) The MAV-1; the
bungee-launched skyblade II: and, most recently, the VTOL Fantail -
which are distinguished as being ST Aero in-house design projects,
described as ready and under discussion with customers. Fantail has
potential with armed forces, paramilitary and security forces, says
the company.
