Images of the enemy are beamed from unmanned aircraft circling overhead to a display mounted on his helmet. He closes in and the firefight begins, captured by a camera attached to his rifle barrel.

To summon extra firepower, he sends an SMS.

It will be as simple as ordering pizza over the phone, said Brigadier-General Chan Chun Sing, commander of the army's 9th Division, responsible for testing out the new gadgets and tactics for urban warfare.

'Our vision is that the soldiers just have to dial 1800-call-a-bomb... they won't have to worry if the bomb comes from the artillery unit, the navy or the air force,' said BG Chan, who is also the SAF's Chief Infantry Officer.

Making all this possible is the Advanced Man Combat System, a package that combines sensors, communication devices and a computer, compact enough to be carried by individual soldiers.

It plugs the infantry trooper into the SAF's wider network of battlefield sensors and weapon systems.

The army says it will roll out the new urban warfare tools to its soldiers next year.

On Friday, soldiers from the 3rd Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment (3 SIR) demonstrated how the technology provides soldiers easier and faster access to accurate information.

'It's real time rather than six hours late,' said BG Chan.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.