Recruits on Pulau Tekong to get six hours of drone training as part of new programme
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Recruits will learn the fundamentals of flying drones by training with the DJI Neo, a palm-sized drone equipped with a camera.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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- Every BMTC company will have 40 drones for recruits to learn basic drone operation and handling skills.
- Recruits will learn drone evasion drills and basic counter-drone skills, drawing from lessons learned from recent conflicts.
- The SAF aims to equip soldiers with "three-dimensional spatial awareness" for modern battlefields, adapting to the increased use of drones.
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SINGAPORE – Recruits at the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) on Pulau Tekong will each get about six hours of drone training as part of a new programme announced earlier in August.
To facilitate the new training, each company of recruits – usually comprising about 250 soldiers – will be equipped with 40 drones, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in response to queries from The Straits Times on Aug 19.
The recruits will learn the fundamentals of flying drones by training with the DJI Neo, a palm-sized drone equipped with a camera.
Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing on Aug 4 announced that all recruits will learn basic skills to counter and operate drones
Mindef said on Aug 19 that BMTC will also train recruits in basic evasive drills when encountering drones. In developing the drills, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has distilled lessons from drone operations in ongoing conflicts, it added.
The ministry said the training was developed in consultation with the SAF’s drone centres to help recruits learn basic proficiency and prepare them to use drones at an advanced level in operational units.
The Singapore Army uses a wide range of commercially available drones to meet training needs, it added.
The drone training package in BMT is intended to familiarise recruits with drone-flying fundamentals, it said.
Mindef also said that BMTC will also train recruits in basic evasive drills when encountering drones.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
As part of the training, recruits will undergo a self-directed e-learning module and a lecture before learning to fly the drones in-camp and in the field.
The first group of more than 3,000 soldiers to learn basic drone skills enlisted in July.
This follows earlier announcements that the SAF will ramp up both drone and counter-drone capabilities across its services.
Drones are now an essential part of war-fighting and the SAF’s move to train the majority of its soldiers in basic drone operations is part of its adaptation to this “new normal”, said S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies associate research fellow Thomas Lim.
Mr Chen Chuanren, senior editor at defence, aviation and aerospace publication Aviation Week Network, said the move to involve recruits is also due to the SAF recognising that drones will be a staple of all kinds of operations, from high-end, front-line units like the commandos to back-end operations such as logistics.
On a visit to BMTC on Aug 4, Mr Chan said that apart from technical skills, the aim is to train the next generation of national servicemen to have “three-dimensional spatial awareness” of the battlefield.
This is as drones have reshaped the battle space from what was once largely ground-based to one where the immediate airspace above a squad could present a threat, said BMTC commander Muhammad Helmi Khaswan.
Correction note: An earlier version of this story said a company of recruits typically comprise about 100 soldiers. This is incorrect; the figure is about 250 soldiers.
