RECOGNISING TOP TALENTS IN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY

In the civilian world, dropped calls and hiccups in mobile network coverage are occasional bugbears. In a military context, the strength of its communication networks can make the difference between mission success and failure.

With that in mind, a development team comprising personnel from DSO National Laboratories (DSO) and the Singapore Army's Headquarters Signals and Command Systems set out to enhance the existing tactical network used by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

The team spent two years to develop a set of advanced software protocols which allows Army units to automatically organise themselves into a tactical communications network to exchange data on the move. Other enhancements include capabilities such as automatic hunting for alternate routes to forward data to recipients who are not directly reachable.

"When compared with legacy (communications) systems, these software-implemented techniques boost communications speed by about 50 percent," said Mr Harry Han, Programme Manager, DSO.

This means that SAF units in the field will be able to receive instructions more quickly than before. Senior commanders also will benefit from more timely updates from the ground units.For their contributions towards Singapore's defence, the team received the Defence Technology Prize (DTP) Team (Research & Development) Award on 21 Sep at the Biopolis Auditorium.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, who presented the awards, said: "As a small nation with limited human resources, we (the SAF) are on a continuous quest for new technology that can amplify our strengths and mitigate our weaknesses."

He cited examples such as the recently upgraded Victory-class missile corvettes operated by the Republic of Singapore Navy, which integrated advanced sensor systems like Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to give the warships a better situational picture.

"This critical ability to incorporate the appropriate advanced technology into different platforms within the SAF and then integrate them as one coherent and powerful system of systems depends crucially on having a core of engineering and scientific expertise within DSTA (Defence Science and Technology Agency), DSO, the SAF and our defence industry," said Dr Ng.

He added: "To keep this scientific edge and enable the SAF to meet its future security challenges, our defence scientists and engineers must continue to invent, innovate and keep up with technological advancements."

Another team honoured this year were the people behind the Critical Infrastructure and System Vulnerability Assessment (CISVA) project. "Vulnerability assessment is important because it allows us to identify even non-obvious weaknesses. From there, we carry out further studies and look for ways to stop nightmare scenarios from happening," said Ms Cheong Mei Teng, Principal Member of Technical Staff, DSO.

Armed with the CISVA capability, the SAF can accurately assess the survivability of its military installations. This innovation has also proved to be useful in non-military contexts and has been used to enhance the security of Singapore's borders and sea-lanes.

Apart from team awards, a DTP Individual (R&D) Award was also presented to Dr Loke Weng Keong for leading and developing effective solutions which have enhanced the SAF's ability to defend against chemical and toxin threats. Dr Loke is a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute, DSO.

One of his many innovations is the Scentmate diagnostic kit, which is used to detect the presence of nerve agents such as Sarin in the human body. Previously, testing for certain toxins meant taking baseline measurements from a randomly selected pool in the population and then comparing individual measurements to this baseline data. Apart from being tedious and time-consuming, there was also the side-effect of alarming the population.

With the diagnostic kit, 96 people can be tested in an hour. This is a marked improvement from laboratory-based tests which took 16 hours to screen the same number of people.

Established in 1989, the DTP is awarded annually to individuals and teams that have made significant technological contributions to the defence capability of Singapore.

DTP 2012 award recipients

Individual (R&D) Award
Dr Loke Weng Keong - DSO

Team (R&D) Award
Army Tactical Network Development Team - DSO, HQ Signals

Team (Engineering) Award
CISVA Team - DSO

Integrated Geographic Information System Team - DSTA, DSO, SAF Mapping Unit

Guided System Team - DSO, DSTA