EXERCISE WALLABY 2025: TO SEE BETTER, SHOOT FASTER

Firepower from land and air rains down on the SAF’s targets, coordinated through timely intelligence from drones and with the aid of digital tools.

This complex live-firing exercise demonstrated the seamless integration of the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF’s) three Services in the third and final frame of Exercise Wallaby 2025 (XWB25), which runs from 16 Oct to 2 Nov.

This year’s exercise began in early September, and saw more than 5,000 personnel and over 500 platforms from the Army, Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) being put through their paces in the vast and rugged terrain of Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Queensland, Australia.

“This exercise is about people, technology and partnership. It represents how the SAF constantly evolves to fight more effectively,” said Colonel (COL) Kwek Kian Leong, Commander 6th Singapore Division (6 Div) / Headquarters Sense and Strike (HQ SS).

Beyond strike assets like the HIMARS and fighter jets, he noted that the SAF is using a “multi-tiered deployment of UAVs…to achieve a persistent and pervasive picture of the battlefield”.  

These include the Orbiter 4 UAVs, the V15 mini-UAV, and a suite of micro-class UAVs suited to the urban terrain.

This year, the SAF and Defence Technology Community also field-tested more than 200 advanced systems – such as a coordinated swarm of over 50 drones for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) – during the exercise. 

For the first time at XWB, the DIS’ Digital Ops Tech Centre engineers have come together with DIS analysts, to create software in-house that enhances the efficiency of intelligence operations.

These software enable rapid prototyping to fine-tune digital solutions to operational requirements, enhancing the ability of air and land forces to sense-make and decision-make quickly.

This year, the DIS brought along a bigger team to support the Army’s and RSAF’s intelligence requirements, and tailor digital solutions to help them execute their missions more effectively.

ME7 Ruth Tay, the DIS Team Lead for XWB25, said: “(As the volume of reports and data received increases,) it is no longer possible for the men in the loop to be able to do the (intelligence) analysis required.

“Digital solutions are the way to go, and we have been successfully supporting the Services in achieving their outcomes.”