PUBLISHED ONOctober 25, 2025 10:00 AMBYBhavya RawatROCKHAMPTON, Australia — Integrating training between the Singapore Army and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) could be of "great value", said the Air Director of Exercise Wallaby 2025 Colonel Woo Sin Boon.
Speaking to the media at Warriors Camp in Rockhampton, Australia on Friday (Oct 24), COL Woo explained that RSAF and the Singapore Army have traditionally been using "very rudimentary" methods of communication.
"(This) is because a lot of our systems were developed individually," he said.
"There's a great value to make sure that both the Army and Air Force can operate seamlessly, exactly like (what is expected) in real combat."
COL Woo added that integration between the two would be done through digital means and will "greatly facilitate" the success of any joint missions they conduct.
Exercise Wallaby, SAF's largest overseas unilateral exercise, is being held from Sept 7 to Nov 2 in Shoalwater Bay Training Area.
The training area is approximately five times the size of Singapore.
This allows the Army and Air Force to conduct operations not possible in Singapore, Deputy SAF Lead for the exercise Colonel Andy Quek told media on Friday.
He cited the upcoming integrated live-firing as one such operation.
The exercise, which is led by the 6th Singapore Division/Headquarters Sense and Strike, trains coordination between air and ground elements in delivering decisive firepower and handling joint targeting processes as well as fire control procedures in a dynamic battlefield environment.
The 23rd Battalion, Singapore Artillery will conduct their High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live firing to assess its ability to deliver precise long-range strikes.
The air-land integrated live firing is supported by multiple drones with tactical mapping abilities, as well as the RSAF's F-16 fighter aircraft and AH-64D attack helicopters.
A next generation Command and Control Information System will also be deployed for battlefield coordination and decision-making in the integrated exercise.
This year marks 35 years since the inauguration of Exercise Wallaby in 1990, which has been held annually by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) since.
Exercise Wallaby 2025 involves over 5,000 personnel and more than 500 platforms from the Singapore Army, the RSAF and the Digital and Intelligence Service.
It also involves engineers and technologists from the Defence Technology Community, including the Ministry of Defence's Future Systems and Technology Directorate , the Defence Science and Technology Agency and DSO National Laboratories.
More than 20 new technology applications developed by DSTA are being employed by the SAF during Exercise Wallaby 2025.
They cover areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, counter-unmanned aerial systems and next-generation connectivity.
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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
