By Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi
Earlier this month, Singapore launched the Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Community, setting another milestone in the city-state’s military modernization program known as the3rd Generation Singapore Armed Forces project.
Without doubt, Singapore has the most technologically advanced armed forces amongst Association of Southeast Asian Nation states. Aside from its Integrated Knowledge-based Command and Control project, the Singaporean Defense Ministry has made numerous acquisitions over the past decade that indicate a shift towards both amphibious and precision strike capabilities.
These acquisitions span the air, ground and naval services of the armed forces, and include: Endurance-class Landing Platform Dock Ships; Formidable-class Stealth Frigates; F-15SG Multirole Fighters; F-16D fighters; the Bionix II Infantry Fighting Vehicleand the Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft (G550-AEW). Moreover, Singapore’s Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen recently stated that Singapore is currently evaluating the possible procurement of the F-35 fighter.
Yet, despite these impressive force structural developments, at least two glaring problems exist in the country’s armed forces that could cause problems in orientation at the operational and tactical levels.
Read the full story at The Diplomat