<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Leopards form 48th Battalion
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Unit made up of German-made tanks with 120mm guns is operationally ready </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jermyn Chow
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PART OF A GREATER WHOLE
Armour does not fight alone. It fights today as part of a system - adding the weight of its protected firepower and mobility to the overall combat power of the SAF, while drawing on the whole range of capabilities from the rest of the SAF to add to its combat power.'
DPM Teo Chee Hean (right) on how the new tank unit, the fifth in the SAF Armour arsenal, will enhance Singapore's defence capabilities.
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE Singapore Armed Forces unveiled its newest unit yesterday, and its business end is a hulking, 55-tonne piece of armour topped with a 120mm gun - the Leopard tank.
Named the 48th Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment (48 SAR), the unit is just over a year old, and has more than 10 of the German-made tanks, with more to come in the years ahead to make a total of 102.
It will be commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Ng Chia Yong, 33.
It is the fifth unit in the SAF's Armour arsenal, and joins others which operate vehicles like the Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carriers.
Since 48 SAR first received its first Leopards a year ago, it has been put through its paces, undergoing manoeuvre training and live-fire exercises in Singapore, Australia and, most recently, in Bergen in Germany.
Yesterday, the unit was declared operationally ready by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean in a formal parade ceremony held at the Armour Centre in Sungei Gedong.
He affixed the unit's emblem - a prowling leopard - on one of the tanks on display.
The four-man tank has more firepower than the ageing SM-1 tanks it will replace: A full-stabilised 120mm cannon that combines punch and accuracy, two 7.62mm machine guns and 16 smoke launchers.
It will also be fitted with the latest technology - a battlefield management system which will show friendly and opposing forces, and allow tank crews to exchange information with other SAF units in the fray.
The Leopard is powered by a turbo-charged diesel engine which allows it to reach speeds of about 70kmh. Its multi-layered armour plating also provides better protection against anti-tank weapons.
In his speech at the parade yesterday - also held to mark the 40th anniversary of the Armour formation - DPM Teo commended the new unit for its achievements so far.
He said that success in the modern battlefield is determined by how different sensors and shooters fight as a network.
'Armour does not fight alone. It fights today as part of a system - adding the weight of its protected firepower and mobility to the overall combat power of the SAF, while drawing on the whole range of capabilities from the rest of the SAF to add to its combat power.'
Brigadier-General Philip Lim, the Chief Armour Officer, told reporters that the modern armour formation will be able to 'do more with the least possible amount of resources employed'.
Giving the example of simulators, he said about 50 per cent of tank crews' training is now conducted on the technologically advanced machines.
In future, he said, unmanned vehicles will be added to the arsenal to monitor the battlefield and destroy enemy units.
Ultimately, however, it is the men who will make a difference, said BG Lim.
'The core of the vehicle is very much based on the heart of the crew.'
[email protected]
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Unit made up of German-made tanks with 120mm guns is operationally ready </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jermyn Chow
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
PART OF A GREATER WHOLE
Armour does not fight alone. It fights today as part of a system - adding the weight of its protected firepower and mobility to the overall combat power of the SAF, while drawing on the whole range of capabilities from the rest of the SAF to add to its combat power.'
DPM Teo Chee Hean (right) on how the new tank unit, the fifth in the SAF Armour arsenal, will enhance Singapore's defence capabilities.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE Singapore Armed Forces unveiled its newest unit yesterday, and its business end is a hulking, 55-tonne piece of armour topped with a 120mm gun - the Leopard tank.
Named the 48th Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment (48 SAR), the unit is just over a year old, and has more than 10 of the German-made tanks, with more to come in the years ahead to make a total of 102.
It will be commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Ng Chia Yong, 33.
It is the fifth unit in the SAF's Armour arsenal, and joins others which operate vehicles like the Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carriers.
Since 48 SAR first received its first Leopards a year ago, it has been put through its paces, undergoing manoeuvre training and live-fire exercises in Singapore, Australia and, most recently, in Bergen in Germany.
Yesterday, the unit was declared operationally ready by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean in a formal parade ceremony held at the Armour Centre in Sungei Gedong.
He affixed the unit's emblem - a prowling leopard - on one of the tanks on display.
The four-man tank has more firepower than the ageing SM-1 tanks it will replace: A full-stabilised 120mm cannon that combines punch and accuracy, two 7.62mm machine guns and 16 smoke launchers.
It will also be fitted with the latest technology - a battlefield management system which will show friendly and opposing forces, and allow tank crews to exchange information with other SAF units in the fray.
The Leopard is powered by a turbo-charged diesel engine which allows it to reach speeds of about 70kmh. Its multi-layered armour plating also provides better protection against anti-tank weapons.
In his speech at the parade yesterday - also held to mark the 40th anniversary of the Armour formation - DPM Teo commended the new unit for its achievements so far.
He said that success in the modern battlefield is determined by how different sensors and shooters fight as a network.
'Armour does not fight alone. It fights today as part of a system - adding the weight of its protected firepower and mobility to the overall combat power of the SAF, while drawing on the whole range of capabilities from the rest of the SAF to add to its combat power.'
Brigadier-General Philip Lim, the Chief Armour Officer, told reporters that the modern armour formation will be able to 'do more with the least possible amount of resources employed'.
Giving the example of simulators, he said about 50 per cent of tank crews' training is now conducted on the technologically advanced machines.
In future, he said, unmanned vehicles will be added to the arsenal to monitor the battlefield and destroy enemy units.
Ultimately, however, it is the men who will make a difference, said BG Lim.
'The core of the vehicle is very much based on the heart of the crew.'
[email protected]
