SINGAPORE – Unmanned aircraft of various shapes and sizes are being put through their paces in the expansive skies over Shoalwater Bay in Queensland, Australia, as the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) trials its next generation of drone and counter-drone technology.
Exercise Wallaby
– Singapore’s largest overseas unilateral military drill – the SAF will execute 17 field trials, including the use of a coordinated swarm of more than 50 drones for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
Drones will also be used in armoured operations, with crews for the Hunter Armoured Fighting Vehicle launching micro-unmanned aerial vehicles to scout ahead of their convoys.
Other trials include the deployment of autonomous vehicles to jam an enemy’s drones, and the use of drones fitted with 5G base stations to extend the SAF’s command network.
Taken together, this year’s exercise marks a significant leap forward in the SAF’s integration of advanced technologies, said Major Robert Justin Morales Naquila, deputy branch head of Mindef’s Future Systems and Technology Directorate.
By testing unmanned systems, artificial intelligence and enhanced connectivity, the SAF is preparing for future challenges, he told the media on Oct 26.
Conducting these trials at the Shoalwater Bay training area – which is roughly five times the size of Singapore – allows the SAF to validate such technology under realistic battlefield conditions, he added.
“Soldiers have hands-on experience, engineers can refine their designs in the field, and commanders can see how these emerging technologies can enhance decision-making and mission outcomes,” he said.
The results of the trials will be carefully studied with the SAF’s defence technology community, and promising concepts, such as one-to-many UAV controls, may be scaled up, he added.
