| Tentera Singapura | |
|---|---|
Singapore Armed Forces Crest |
|
| Founded | 12 March 1957 |
| Country | Singapore |
| Branch | Army |
| Size | 72,000 (active, including 35000 conscripts) 300,000+ (reserve) |
| Part of | Singapore Armed Forces |
| Motto | Yang Pertama Dan Utama ('First and Foremost') |
| Engagements | Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation,[1][2][3] Iraq War Operation Enduring Freedom (as part of NATO-led ISAF) |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of Army | Major General Ravinder Singh |
| Notable commanders |
Lieutenant General Winston Choo |
The Singapore Army (Chinese: 新加坡陆军部队, Malay: Tentera Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் தரைப்படை) is the branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for land operations. It is the largest of the three armed services and heavily reliant on a conscript army, comprising the majority of Singapore's Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen).
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The mission of the Army is to deter aggression, and should deterrence fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory. In peacetime, the Army is to be ready and capable of conducting a spectrum of operations to protect Singapore's national interests and the well-being of its citizens.[4]
The Singapore Army focuses on leveraging technology and weapon systems as "force-multipliers". The Singapore Army is capable of conducting amphibious operations with a highly developed logistics force, across all three services of Army, Navy and Air Force, as seen in the relief work in Aceh, Indonesia, after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
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Aside from hardware, the Singapore Army heavily invests in its "software". Largely made-up of tertiary-educated conscripts and professional regulars, its soldiers are highly-educated, well-trained and technically proficient.[5]
To equip all soldiers with practical fighting experience, large-scale exercises, up to division level are conducted several times a year, exposing almost every fighting unit to full-spectrum, full-scale war scenarios. Some of these exercises also involve the air force and navy, in order to familiarise its troops with its combined arms, tri-service operations. Due to space constraints, such exercises are usually conducted overseas unilaterally. Reservists take part in overseas exercises regularly and there is persistent pressure on units to improve their operational readiness.[5] Bilateral training and exchanges are also common between friendly nations. The Singapore Army also professionally conducts "tough, realistic and safe training in order to fulfill the Army’s mission." [4]
The Singapore Army is currently undergoing the transformation into a 3rd Generation fighting force.[6] The SAF's evolution into its 3rd Generation involves combining advances in technology and training while using networking to integrate the tri-services into an integrated fighting force. This will provide even greater operational-readiness and flexibility during war and peace time.
The Army is headed by the Chief of Army (COA), currently Major General Ravinder Singh. Assisting him are the Chief of Staff-General Staff (COS-GS) BG Tung Yui Fai,[7] and the Commander, Army Training and Doctrine Command (Brigadier General Lim Hock Yu).[8] The senior Sergeant Major of the Army is SWO Tang Peck Oon.[9] There are also six functional departments and an NS Affairs Department (NSAD) dealing with National Service issues, collectively known as the General Staff and an Inspectorate. The six functional departments handle personnel, intelligence, operations, logistics, plans and training respectively. Each department is headed by an Assistant Chief of the General Staff (ACGS). Also advising the COA are the Senior Specialist Staff Officers (SSSOs): Infantry, Guards, Armour, Commando, Artillery, Engineers and Signals.[10][11]
The army consists of the following Combat Arms, which are integrated with one another to form the Divisional and Non-divisional assets:
These are bolstered by Combat Service Support Units which consist of the following:
The main components of the Army are its 3 active Combined-Arms Divisions[14]: 3rd, 6th and 9th Div.[15] They include both active and reserve units, all of which can be mobilised in phases.
Each division comprises:
3rd Singapore Division has as its motto "Foremost and Utmost". It comprises:
6th Singapore Division has as its motto "Swift and Deadly". It comprises:
9th Division/Infantry has within the last ten years also assumed the responsibilities of headquarters infantry. It's motto is "Forging Ahead".
Organization:
Although officially designated as an Army Operational Reserve (AOR) division, the 21st Division is essentially a rapid deployment force composed primarily of Guards, elite infantry trained in both amphibious and heliborne assault. The armoured and artillery component of the division is presumed to be lightweight, amphibious and comparatively maneuverable. Therefore it can be assumed that the division includes lightweight artillery such as the SLWH Pegasus as well as Light Strike Vehicles and possibly the amphibious AV-82 Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle.
Guards Motto: "Ready to Strike"
Organization:
Note: Of the three brigades, one trains in an airmobile role in conjunction with the air force helicopter squadrons, and another in amphibious operations with naval fast transport craft.[16]
The People's Defence Force initially epitomized Singapore's resolve to take charge of its own defences in the early years of independence. Since then it has grown, and today two PDF is responsible for the 24/7 protection of key installations and for coordinating military resources to assist Homefront agencies in civil emergencies, with the HQ manned round the clock to provide an effective and efficient response to incidents island-wide.
Motto: Steadfast We Stand and Steadfast We Will Deliver
Organization:
A NS reservist command headed by the Chief Armour Officer since inception.
Organization:
Tim Huxley, writing in the book "Defending the Lion City", wrote that 'the reorganisations of 1991 and 1995 left one armoured brigade, 4 SAB, outside the divisional structure, prompting speculation that it had been earmarked to form the core of a planned mechanised formation, sometimes referred to as 32nd Division. However if this division was indeed established during the 1990s, at the end of the decade it remains under wraps.'[17]
| Type | Quantity |
| Main battle tanks | ~212 |
| Leopard 2SG (120mm Rheinmetall L44 main gun) | >132[18] (includes 30 spare tanks, excludes 14 Bergepanzer BPz3 Büffel ARVs[19]) |
| Centurion Mk 3/Mk 7 (105mm L7 main gun) | >80 [20] |
| Light tanks | 362 |
| AMX-13SM1 | 340[19] (retiring in phases) |
| AMX-10PAC90 | 22[19] (in reserves) |
| Mechanized infantry Combat Vehicles / IFVs | ~1,022 |
| AMX-10P | 22[19] (in reserves) |
| Bionix II (30mm Bushmaster II chain gun/New armour) | 200[19] |
| Bionix 25 (25mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun) | 200[19] |
| Bionix 40/50 (CIS 40mm AGL + CIS 50MG) | 300[19] |
| Terrex AV-81 | ~300 |
| Armoured Personnel Carriers/Reconnaissance Vehicles | 1,335 |
| M113A2 ULTRA 40/50 (CIS 40mm AGL + CIS 50MG) | 950[19] |
| M113A2 ULTRA OWS (25mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun) | 50[19] |
| Cadillac Gage V-100/150/200 | 30/40/200 (total 270 in reserves), 50 V-200s in use by the RSAF[19] |
| MaxxPro Dash MRAP | 15 in Afghanistan as part of International Security Assistance Force[19] |
| Multiple Rocket Launchers | 18 |
| High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) | 18[19] |
| XM31 Unitary HE GMLRS Pod | 32 (192 rockets)[19] |
| Mortars | ~62 |
| 81 mm | ~? |
| Soltam M-65 120 mm towed mortar | 50 (in reserves)[19] |
| Soltam M-66 160 mm towed mortar | 12 (in storage)[19] |
| Howitzers | ~400 |
| 25 pounder Mk II | 12 (Ceremonial gun) |
| Soltam M-68 155mm/L33 Towed Howitzer | 45 (in storage)[19] |
| Soltam M-71S 155mm/L39 Towed Howitzer | 38 (in storage)[19] |
| M-114A1 155 mm Towed Howitzer | 16 (in storage)[19] |
| FH-88 155mm/L39 Towed Howitzer | 54 (48 retired, 6 sold to Indonesian Army)[19] |
| FH-2000 155mm/L52 Towed Howitzer | 72 |
| GIAT LG1 105mm/L30 Towed Howitzer | 37 (in storage)[21] |
| SSPH Primus 155mm/L39 Self-Propelled Howitzer (SSPH-1) | 48 (not including 2× command post & 4× recovery vehicle)[19] |
| SLWH Pegasus 155mm/L39 Heli-portable Lightweight Howitzer | 54 |
| Artillery-locating radar | 10 |
| AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder radar | 4[19] |
| AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder radar | 3[19] |
| ARTHUR | 3[19] |
| Armoured Engineers | ~56 |
| FV180 Combat Engineer Tractor | 36[19] |
| M60 Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge (AVLB) | 12[19] |
| M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle (CEV) -165mm Demolition Gun | 8[19] |
| Bionix Counter-Mine Vehicle (Trailblazer) | ~? |
| Aardvark JSFU (Joint Service Flail Unit) | ~? |
| Field Engineers | ~? |
| Vehicle Launched Bridge (VLB) | ~? |
| Foldable Longspan Bridge (FLB) | ~? |
| Projected Line Charge (PLC) | ~? |
| Bionix AVLB | ~? |
| Bridging Engineers | ~? |
| M3G Float Bridge | ~? |
| All-Terrain Tracked Vehicles | ~700 |
| Bronco ATTC (GPMG armed/120mm Super-Rapid Mortar) | ~400 |
| Bandvagn 206 (GPMG armed) | ~300 |
| Unmanned Vehicles | ~? |
| Skyblade Mini-UAVs | ~? |
| Anti-Tank Rockets/Missiles | ~4,000 |
| Carl Gustav recoilless rifle | ~?[22] |
| SPIKE-LR | 1,000[23] |
| Matador | ~3,000 |
| Guards Vehicles | ~400 |
| Spider LSV with twin SPIKE ATGM | ~200 |
| Spider LSV | ~200 |
| Direct Fire Weapons | ~400,000 |
| SAR 21 | ~150,000 |
| SAR-21 Grenade Launcher | ~? |
| M16S1 local variant of M16A1 produced under license | ~200,000[24] |
| CAR-15 Carbine version of the M-16 | ~5,000[24] |
| M203 grenade launcher | ~20,000 |
| Ultimax 100 | ~20,000 |
| FN MAG 7.62 mm General Purpose Machine Gun | ~10,000 |
| CIS 12.7 mm HMG | ~3,000 |
| Sig-Sauer P226 9 mm Pistol | ~? |
| H&K MP-5N 9 mm SMG | ~2,000 |
| FN P90 5.7 mm SMG | ~500 |
| FN Five-seven 5.7 mm Pistol | ~500 |
| PGM Mini-Hecate 8.6 mm Long-Range Sniper Rifle | ~100 |
| H&K PSG-1 7.62 mm Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle | ~? |
| Accuracy International L96A1 7.62 mm Sniper Rifle | ~? |
| Accuracy International L115A1 8.6 mm Long-Range Sniper Rifle | ~? |
| Steyr SSG 69 7.62 mm Sniper Rifle | ~? |
| Brügger & Thomet APR308 7.62 mm Sniper Rifle | ~? |
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