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

ROCKHAMPTON – 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.

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.

The exercise’s air director, Colonel Phillip Khoo, said that for example, DIS servicemen will provide the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) with threat and intelligence analysis from sensors in the training area. “We (the RSAF alone) do not have the detailed level of analysis that the DIS is able to provide,” he added.

The exercise started on Sept 8 and will end on Nov 3. This is about three weeks longer than in previous years.

It will also involve about 1½ times more personnel than the previous largest exercise, which was the last edition of Exercise Wallaby in 2023, COL Lim said.

He said: “The new arrangement with our Australian counterparts means that we were able to extend the exercise from six to nine weeks… This means that we have an additional training frame, which will allow us to increase the number of personnel by close to 50 per cent.”

This includes about 500 operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen), as well as about 490 platforms, referring to various military vehicles and systems.

Preparation for the exercise started way beforehand, COL Lim added, with training conferences and on-the-ground recces and preparations by SAF troops beginning as early as the start of 2024.

All this work is necessary because of the opportunity the Shoalwater Bay Training Area – a vast area four times the size of Singapore in Queensland on Australia’s eastern coast – provides to the SAF, the leaders said.

The area and its varied terrain – ranging from beaches, to light forests and open fields – allow soldiers to stretch their equipment to their full capabilities, said COL Lim.

He added: “Because of Singapore’s land scarcity, it is important for the SAF to conduct large-scale, realistic overseas exercises. These are necessary to make sure that we are operationally ready.

“The Shoalwater Bay Training Area allows us to conduct combined arms training and integrated live-firing at the scale, scope and complexity that cannot be done in Singapore.”

This includes missions involving various types of helicopters, known as composite force operations, said Colonel Khoo. In these operations, helicopters fly in various formations to fulfil missions such as air-lifting troops and vehicles.

While the training involves NSmen and regulars, many full-time national servicemen (NSFs) such as Hunter AFV operator Corporal Harith Amani Sabarudin, 22, are part of the exercise as well.

Training in Shoalwater Bay has added a layer of realism which has given him confidence, he said.

“In Singapore, we use simulators to experience how the (terrain at) the exercise will be, but the first time I went off the road and into vegetation, it was a bit scary… but I managed to follow my vehicle commander’s instructions,” he added.

Lots of work is done to ready the soldiers for the weeks they will spend away on exercise.

Beyond physical training, intelligence officer Captain Loy Yong Wei’s unit also held family days for NSFs’ family members, to tell them about conditions on the ground and how long their sons would be out in the field, among other things.

CPT Loy, 27, whose unit 11C4I battalion was evaluated at the exercise, said: “We also got their families to record videos encouraging them, to motivate them while they are here.

“Even though conditions were harsh, none of the guys gave up. I’m really proud of them.”