DEFENCE SCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS RECOGNISED FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO SINGAPORE'S DEFENCE
STORY // Matthew Neo
PHOTO // Chua Soon Lye
Whether it is in the field of communicating to one another, control of ideas, control systems, or weaponry, the community of defence scientists, technologists and engineers plays a key role.
Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen said this at the Defence Technology Prize (DTP) award ceremony, held on 7 Nov at the Fusionopolis Genexis Theatre.There, he presented the DTP to three individuals and five teams, in recognition of their contributions to strengthening Singapore's defence capabilities.
Dr Ng thanked all in the defence technology community "for enabling the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to become the technologically advanced fighting force it is today".
"It is fitting that the achievements of three of the five DTP Team winners this year are aiding the SAF's transformation into an advanced network force," he said.
Citing the work of one of the five DTP winners as an example, Dr Ng said the technology behind the communications and tactical networking equipment on board the Missile Corvette (MCV) was made possible through the work of the Navy Datalink System Team from the DSO National Labs, Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).
The team had come up with an advanced datalink system that enabled the RSN to integrate its platforms into an intelligent, self-organisedcommunications network. More data can be transmitted faster through high frequency radios, and different types of radio and satellite communications equipment on board the ship can work together on a single network.
Dr Ng said: "These better communication networks are essential and recently in our exercises - CARAT and Malapura - it showed visible improvement in our capabilities, that we successfully launched and hit various targets."
As naval vessels are often deployed over vast distances as sea, they have to use High Frequency (HF) radios to enable long-range wireless communications. However, there is the inherent disadvantage that these HF radios can only transmit limited amounts of data.
Navy Datalink System Team overcame this disadvantage by developing innovative network algorithms to utilise limited bandwidth efficiently. As a result, communications can now be made with less delay.
Additionally, naval vessels often have many different types of wireless communications equipment such as HF radios, Very High Frequency Radios, and satellite communications. The team managed to integrate the various forms ofwireless communication by designing a system of data forwarding and data filtering.
Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Chen Yuan Xin, a member of the Navy Datalink System Team, said: "The datalink enabled our forces to network, collaborate, and organise themselves dynamically at sea whilst maintaining shared situational awareness."
"The datalink has also enabled the common maritime situation picture to be established and shared more rapidly with the wider SAF for more responsive decision making."
Another team whose winning innovation was highlighted by Dr Ng in his speech was the MCV Upgrade Team from DSTA, Singapore Technologies and the RSN, for integrating unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations onto the upgraded MCV. Dr Ng said: "The MCV is the first of its kind for a Corvette-class tointer-operate an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for extended durations, and this allows the RSN to have greater persistence for surveillance. Now, our MCVs are faster, can look further, and operate as part of a larger force."
Team leader, Mr Chung Kam Sam from DSTA, explained that UAV operations were typically done on bigger ships as their flight decks could be used to house the launch and recovery of the UAV. He said: "The integrations of a UAV on a naval corvette illustrates how the team worked within existing space constraints to deliver an unprecedented capability to the RSN The team came up with an innovative idea of fitting the UAV launcher on a rotatable platform, allowing the UAV to be launched at optimal angles while ensuring sufficient clearance from nearby deck operations."
Besides their groundbreaking work on UAV operations, MCV Upgrade Team also designed an improved combat management system for the MCV. The system was designed to streamline the overwhelming surge of information delivered to the MCV crew, allowing for prompt decision making. There were also hardware changes as a combat management system was mounted onto the Commanding Officer's (CO's) chair, providing him with direct access to key information, instead of getting his information verbally from the crew.
Established in 1989, the DTP is awarded annually to individuals and teams who have made significant contributions to the defence capability of Singapore. The DTP also serves to foster technological innovation and encourage breakthroughs in defence science and technology.
