HONOURING THE BEST IN DEFENCE SCIENCE

In any organisation, the optimal use of resources is important in creating greater efficiency and productivity. This is even more critical in the military, as poor resource allocation and failure to deliver resources could define the success or failure of an operation.

In view of this, a team from the Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) and the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) HQ Maintenance and Engineering Support developed a systems engineering tool, known as Optimised Decisions in Networks (ODIN), to enhance the Army s network resilience and optimise resource requirements.

Named after the father of comic book superhero Thor, the ODIN tool is able to evaluate the links between different systems - such as sensors and weapons - within the entire network and analyse how the interdependencies between the systems can affect mission outcomes.

With this information, the Army is able to make more informed decisions in resource allocation as it can deploy more resources to assets that are more critical to the overall operation. The system has been deployed in missions and exercises such as Exercise Wallaby, the Artillery Hunting Radar's (ARTHUR's) overseas deployment, and Headquarters (HQ) Signal exercise missions.

"The ODIN tool focuses on operations-logistics integration. It was not easy to develop due to the complexity and uniqueness of how the 3rd Generation SAF operates in a network-centric environment We needed to build up on our domain knowledge, and understand all the different systems and network configuration," said Ms Cheng Siew Yen, Head (Tools Development) from DSTA.

The ODIN team was one of the four groups that received the Defence Technology Prize (DTP) Team (Engineering) Award from Minister of Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen in a ceremony held at Fusionopolis on 15 Nov.

In his address, Dr Ng highlighted the crucial roles that defence scientists and engineers play in Singapore's defence strategy and the important contributions that they have made to the SAF's technological advancements.

"It is the capabilities and commitment of our defence technology community that have underpinned the transformation of the SAF. We deploy advanced technologies, many of which are state of the art, because we have, over the years, invested in building up and sustaining our defence scientists and engineers."

He also emphasised that the defence technology community must be aware of the SAF's operational needs in order to maintain its technological edge.

In order to facilitate this, he noted, military and technology experts had been pooled to form the Future Systems & Technology Directorate in July this year to oversee research and technology developments for the SAF's medium- and long-term needs.

Another recipient of the DTP Team (Engineering) Award was the team from DSTA and the SAF's HQ 9th Division who developed the Multi-Mission Range Complex (MMRC).

This hi-tech multi-range consists of a 50m indoor range integrated with the Video Targetry System which simulates scenarios to train soldiers in making shooting decisions swiftly and accurately.

The MMRC also allows soldiers to train with different weapons and fire small arms of different calibres such as the General Purpose Machine Gun. With acoustic sensors, the system can accurately determine whether the hostile target within the simulated video had been hit.

Another highlight of the complex is the Urban Operations Range, where movable partition walls and electronic targets can be configured to simulate different urban settings.

"The objective of the MMRC is to create positive soldier experiences...(so that) they will be focused on their core competencies of shooting," said Mr Peter Lim, MMRC Programme Manager (Networked Systems) from DSTA.

"It prepares the soldiers for actual deployments as the training scenarios being simulated are similar to real combat situations."

Established in 1989, the DTP is awarded annually to individuals and teams who have made significant technological contributions to Singapore's defence capabilities. The prize also serves to foster technological innovation and encourage breakthroughs in defence science and technology.

Speaking about the 25th anniversary of the DTP, three-time winner Mr Pang Chung Khiang, Director of DSTA Masterplanning and Systems Architecting, noted: "Every year, I'm excited to know who the winners are because I'm keen to know about the new capabilities they have brought to defence.

"I feel that the innovative spirit and passion shown by the prize winners can serve as motivation to our next generation of engineers to let them know that we have the necessary infrastructure to come up with our own defence innovations."

Dr How Khee Yin, Director of Information Division from the DSO National Laboratories, shared similar sentiments.

A four-time DTP winner, he added: "What spurs us on is that we realise that the work we do and our innovations have a real impact on national security and the defence of our nation."