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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>SAF's Leopards impress in major overseas drill
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Latest battle tanks part of exercise showcasing ability to knock out enemies </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jermyn Chow
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
Singapore Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean and his Australian counterpart Joel Fitzgibbon at the conclusion of the live-firing exercise in Rockhampton, Queensland. -- ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Rockhampton (Australia) - The awesome firepower of the Singapore military's latest battle tanks - the Leopard 2A4s - was demonstrated in its first major overseas exercise yesterday.
Two of the German-made Leopards - the Singapore Armed Forces' first heavy tanks - fired live rounds as they took part in the SAF's annual exercise, codenamed Wallaby, in Rockhampton, Queensland.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
SENSE, SHOOT AND SUPPRESS
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>They were among 100 armoured vehicles backing thousands of 'blue', or friendly troop forces, giving a hammering to the 'red', or enemy forces.
The two Leopards were key assets in pre-emptively crippling the aggressors before the red forces could launch an offensive.
Critical, too, in spotting the targets was a network of sensors, including pilotless planes or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and mobile land radars surrounding the sprawling battlefield.
Apart from the tanks' big guns, other 'shooters' plugged into this network were the F-16 fighter jets, Apache AH-64D attack helicopters and lightweight artillery guns. Their coordinated thrusts took out their targets quickly and precisely.
Finally, the Leopards, leading a convoy of M113 Ultra armoured personnel carriers, moved in to cut off enemy reinforcements, gunning down remaining hostile targets with their 120mm guns.
The manoeuvres successfully demonstrated the SAF's ability to deliver knockout blows to enemy forces and, more importantly, 'breaking them down' in the shortest time.
'Today's enemy is dynamic and mobile. We must deliver the extra edge to deny them the ability and chance to strike us first,' said Colonel Ishak Ismail, director of the exercise, which started earlier this month and will end on Nov 16.
The exercise in Queensland's vast Shoalwater Bay training area - four times Singapore's size - is the latest in a series of SAF drills to validate new war-fighting concepts and technologies.
Such shakedowns are vital to the SAF's transition to being a more lethal third-generation (3G) fighting force.
At the heart of this 'sense, shoot and suppress' capability is the SAF's latest Air-Land Tactical Control Centre. The portable centre hones its 'see first, see more' technology in real-time and with precise information, so commanders can orchestrate the firepower and make quicker decisions.
Inside the centre, a five-man team tracks the movements of friendly and hostile forces through a web of airborne and land sensors.
'We're an extra pair of eyes and ears for the pilots and troops so they don't get caught in a crossfire, or worse still, get hit by friendly forces,' said air force Lieutenant-Colonel Thiruthakka Devan, commanding officer of 201 Squadron. He is in charge of the centre.
Yesterday's exercise also showed off the army's newest sensor, the Bird-eye mini UAVs.
These camera-equipped mini-planes - which have a range of about 8km - can go into enemy territory to gather information without risk to soldiers.
This year saw 23 aircraft, including the Apaches and F-16s, deployed in the 45-day exercise. The air assets were 'tightly woven' into the army-led operations to create a formidable fighting force, said the exercise's air director, Colonel Sunny Yun.
'We basically dominate the airspace and shape the land battle,' he added.
Witnessing the outcome yesterday was Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean and his Australian counterpart Joel Fitzgibbon. Both men also had a chance to sit in the Leopards and fire off live 120mm rounds. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Latest battle tanks part of exercise showcasing ability to knock out enemies </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jermyn Chow
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Singapore Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean and his Australian counterpart Joel Fitzgibbon at the conclusion of the live-firing exercise in Rockhampton, Queensland. -- ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Rockhampton (Australia) - The awesome firepower of the Singapore military's latest battle tanks - the Leopard 2A4s - was demonstrated in its first major overseas exercise yesterday.
Two of the German-made Leopards - the Singapore Armed Forces' first heavy tanks - fired live rounds as they took part in the SAF's annual exercise, codenamed Wallaby, in Rockhampton, Queensland.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>They were among 100 armoured vehicles backing thousands of 'blue', or friendly troop forces, giving a hammering to the 'red', or enemy forces.
The two Leopards were key assets in pre-emptively crippling the aggressors before the red forces could launch an offensive.
Critical, too, in spotting the targets was a network of sensors, including pilotless planes or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and mobile land radars surrounding the sprawling battlefield.
Apart from the tanks' big guns, other 'shooters' plugged into this network were the F-16 fighter jets, Apache AH-64D attack helicopters and lightweight artillery guns. Their coordinated thrusts took out their targets quickly and precisely.
Finally, the Leopards, leading a convoy of M113 Ultra armoured personnel carriers, moved in to cut off enemy reinforcements, gunning down remaining hostile targets with their 120mm guns.
The manoeuvres successfully demonstrated the SAF's ability to deliver knockout blows to enemy forces and, more importantly, 'breaking them down' in the shortest time.
'Today's enemy is dynamic and mobile. We must deliver the extra edge to deny them the ability and chance to strike us first,' said Colonel Ishak Ismail, director of the exercise, which started earlier this month and will end on Nov 16.
The exercise in Queensland's vast Shoalwater Bay training area - four times Singapore's size - is the latest in a series of SAF drills to validate new war-fighting concepts and technologies.
Such shakedowns are vital to the SAF's transition to being a more lethal third-generation (3G) fighting force.
At the heart of this 'sense, shoot and suppress' capability is the SAF's latest Air-Land Tactical Control Centre. The portable centre hones its 'see first, see more' technology in real-time and with precise information, so commanders can orchestrate the firepower and make quicker decisions.
Inside the centre, a five-man team tracks the movements of friendly and hostile forces through a web of airborne and land sensors.
'We're an extra pair of eyes and ears for the pilots and troops so they don't get caught in a crossfire, or worse still, get hit by friendly forces,' said air force Lieutenant-Colonel Thiruthakka Devan, commanding officer of 201 Squadron. He is in charge of the centre.
Yesterday's exercise also showed off the army's newest sensor, the Bird-eye mini UAVs.
These camera-equipped mini-planes - which have a range of about 8km - can go into enemy territory to gather information without risk to soldiers.
This year saw 23 aircraft, including the Apaches and F-16s, deployed in the 45-day exercise. The air assets were 'tightly woven' into the army-led operations to create a formidable fighting force, said the exercise's air director, Colonel Sunny Yun.
'We basically dominate the airspace and shape the land battle,' he added.
Witnessing the outcome yesterday was Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean and his Australian counterpart Joel Fitzgibbon. Both men also had a chance to sit in the Leopards and fire off live 120mm rounds. [email protected]
