PUBLISHED ONJuly 19, 2026 7:00 AMBYSean LerIt is just about three weeks away from Singapore's 61st birthday, and weekends at the Kallang area have been a hive of activities with participants being put through their paces at the now-concluded combined rehearsals and National Education (NE) shows.
Ahead of the preview shows beginning next week, AsiaOne was among the media to join the Presidential Gun Salute (PGS) crew during the second NE show on Saturday (July 18).
The PGS is the highest military honour conferred and reserved exclusively for the President. It is timed to coincide with the President’s inspection of the parade.
AsiaOne observed five Mobility 3rd Generation (M3G) amphibious vehicles operated by the 35th Battalion, Singapore Combat Engineers, had earlier sailed out into the basin, linking up to form a raft, before the combined raft returned to shore.
There, four 25-pounder Howitzer guns were loaded up in preparation for the PGS.
At about 6.30pm, the M3G raft sailed off towards the National Stadium, with gunners from the 23rd Battalion, Singapore Artillery, decked out in their ceremonial uniforms.
Even the otters came out to form their own "guard of honour".
Around the corner, rainclouds started closing in towards Kallang Basin from the Marina Bay area. But both the gunners and the engineers were unfazed, their eyes steeled and focused.
Shortly after 6.45pm, the whirl of helicopter blades rang overhead as a CH-47 Chinook, escorted by two AH-64 Apache attack helicopters flew towards the National Stadium for the state flag flypast.
Then, the first shot rang out, and 18 more followed. As smoke fizzled clear from the muzzle, the rain cloud passed too.
On Aug 9, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will be accorded a 21-gun salute, but during the NDP previews, a 19-gun salute is instead accorded to the parade's reviewing officer.
Major (MAJ) Chin Wei Jian, who chairs the National Day Parade's (NDP) PGS, said on Saturday that the decision to conduct the 21-gun salute at Kallang Basin is intended to bring the NDP experience closer to all Singaporeans.
"Those who are viewing the PGS at the waterfront can see and feel the impact of the PGS firings from where they are at, both the sounds and visuals, as well as the impact of the shockwaves," the 34-year-old said.
He added that the distance of the PGS from National Stadium — 200 metres — is "a lot nearer" as compared to when it was held in the Marina Bay area.
But safety remains the priority, MAJ Chin emphasised, explaining that stakeholders such as national water agency, PUB, are consulted to ensure that there are clear timelines on when water activities can take place.
Engineers from the Defence Science and Technology Agency were also roped in to conduct a detailed sound mapping study.
Meanwhile, the guns are positioned at least 150 metres away from the nearest infrastructure, as well as viewing areas where members of the public are at.
Turning to the work behind the scenes, PGS organising secretary Captain (CPT) L Vaishnavi said planning started about a year ago, while the crew, totalling about 151 personnel from across the Singapore Artillery and Singapore Combat Engineers, began their training in January.
According to CPT Vaishnavi, they spend nearly 20 hours on-site during each rehearsal at Kallang Basin, reporting at about 4am in the morning and only leaving at about 2am the next day. This will also be the case on Aug 9.
"I do hope that at the end of the day, when the audience sees us conducting the PGS, they don't just see the (about) 10 minutes of display, but the hard work that goes beyond the crew members as well as the organising committee," the 32-year-old said.
Wrapping up before they returned to their duties, MAJ Chin said: "I'm most looking forward to the day when we see our family members standing along the Kallang Waterfront area, seeing us, waving at us, and saying hi to us, knowing that their sons, their brothers, their husbands, their family members are on the M3G raft doing the live firing of the PGS and doing something for the country, as one."
@asiaone NDP 2026 will be the first time that the Presidential Gun Salute will be conducted at the Kallang Basin, about 200m away from the National Stadium. Join us to see how they are shaping up #sgnews #Singapore #NDP2026 ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
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