SAF TESTS 3G CONCEPTS AND CAPABILITIES

Exercise Forging Sabre is a tangible form of the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) transformation journey and is an excellent platform to showcase the integrated capabilities across the Services, said Exercise Director, Colonel (COL) Philip Lim.

"The doctrine, the command and control procedures, and the way we operationalise our capabilities in Exercise Forging Sabre will serve as a basis to build other 3G capabilities," he said.

According to COL Lim, the SAF has been developing this integrated strike capability over the last two years.

After defining the role and missions of each individual component and the concept of operations, key officers went through the map-planning phase and table-top training before embarking upon 'constructive preparation'.

In this particular phase, the priority is to put together all the components in a 'live' setting, which is what Exercise Forging Sabre is looking to achieve.

"This is the first exercise that the AH-64Ds are participating with all the other SAF's strike assets."

"There are a few new key missions they are being exposed to, for example, strike operations with the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, operating together with the F-16s and the Artillery," explained Exercise Director (Air), COL Sarbjit Singh (left).

"It is essentially an exercise where we are seeing how well integrated all our key strike and sensor assets are."

In the run-up to this exercise, the Peace Carvin II F-16s carried out mixed air platform strike operations with the Peace Vanguard AH-64D Apache attack helicopters earlier this year.

Effective integrated strike capabilities translate into enhanced network-centric operations for the SAF, allowing it to dominate a wider battle space through a multiplier effect.

"Network-centricity is a key enabler," emphasised COL Singh.

"It is something that is going to enable co-operation at all levels, from HQ commands all the way down to the platforms on the ground, so you see information being shared across the board, which in turn quickens the decision-making cycle."

"And when you combine this with precision strike abilities, you have a deadly combination," he said, "where we are able to get the job done precisely and quickly."

Exercise Forging Sabre allows the SAF to see how well integrated its key strike and sensor assets are, said Exercise Director, COL Philip Lim.

Eye in the sky: (Left) The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in flight and (right) the image that it generates.

>> Visit the Ex Forging Sabre website for more information