ARMY ENGINEERS BAG TOP DEFENCE PRIZE FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

Just days into their deployment in Afghanistan, the Weapon Locating Radar (WLR) engineering team led by Military Expert (ME) 6 Chow Wai Yein encountered their first challenge.

To protect the crew and vehicle from small arms fire and rocket shrapnel, the team had to operate the radar behind a defensive wall. However, this caused exhaust gas from the WLR's generator to be deflected into the vehicle's rear cabin, affecting the performance of the system and the crew's health.

The team quickly came together to brainstorm for solutions and in less than three days, created an adaptor and a piping system that efficiently channelled the exhaust gas out of the vehicle.

As a result of this and other innovative engineering solutions such as a customised external generator and cooling unit, the team was able to increase the lifespan and sustain the performance of the WLR for the 15 months that it was deployed. Most radar systems last an average of nine months to a year in the harsh desert environment of Afghanistan.

"Most significantly, we were able to track and achieve 100 per cent detection of all the rockets fired in our area of coverage. This helped to save the lives of the coalition forces (who were in the area) that the radar was meant to protect," said ME 6 Chow, the Deputy Chief Maintenance and Engineering Officer from the Singapore Army's Maintenance and Engineering Support Formation (Army MES).

Deployed to Oruzgan, Afghanistan from September 2009 to December 2010, the 15-man engineering team was one of six recipients of this year's Defence Technology Prize (DTP).

The awards ceremony, now in its 23rd year, was held at the Biopolis on 28 Oct.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, who presented the prizes at the ceremony, said that the DTP award was a fitting tribute to recognise the defence scientists and engineers who have achieved technological excellence and whose work has significant impact on the operational capabilities of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

He added: "These men and women work quietly behind the scenes, pushing the boundaries of science and technology so that the SAF can continue to keep its combat systems and platforms at the cutting edge."

The winners were selected from 27 entries by a judging panel chaired by the Ministry of Defence's Chief Defence Scientist Mr Quek Tong Boon.

The X-SAT Microsatellite team was also recognised for their efforts in building up significant expertise in satellite systems for Singapore. The team, comprising over 50 members from DSO National Laboratories, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), designed and built Singapore's first homemade satellite.

This 120kg microsatellite captured full images of Singapore within a month of its launch in April this year.

"From its design and development to integration tests and the launch and operation of the satellite, we have built up a complete spectrum of engineering expertise for satellite systems development," said Dr Goh Cher Hiang, Project Director of the X-SAT Microsatellite team.

This expertise can also be used in other areas. For example, the team's fault-tolerant design considerations, which were used to deal with possible defects in the satellite system, are also applicable to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) system.

Moving forward, Dr Goh said that his team was looking at constructing even smaller satellites packaged with more innovative applications and ideas.

"We are driven [to innovate] by what we do not know," he added.

Over the last 22 years, the Defence Technology Prize has been awarded to some 30 individuals and 72 teams who have contributed in key areas such as Command and Control systems, sensors as well as guided and unmanned systems.

DTP 2011 Winners

Individual award (R&D)

1. Mr Teoh Chin Heng for advanced electronics

Team award (R&D)

1. DSO National Laboratories, NTU's Satellite Research Centre and NUS' Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing for X-SAT Microsatellite

2. DSO team for data fusion

Team award (Engineering)

1. Army MES and DSTA for the WLR

2. DSTA team for the Advanced Protective Infrastructure

3. DSTA team for the Advanced Radar System