The Singaporean military is arguably the most technologically advanced in Southeast Asia.
[122] It comprises the
Singapore Army,
Republic of Singapore Navy, and
Republic of Singapore Air Force. It is seen as the guarantor of the country's independence.
[123] This principle translates into the culture, involving all citizens in the country's defence.
[124] The government spends 4.9% of the country's GDP on the military—high by regional standards
[122]—and one out of every four dollars of government spending is spent on defence.
[125]
A great deal of initial support came from
Israel,
[126] a country that is not recognised by the neighbouring
Muslim-majority nations of Malaysia, Indonesia, or Brunei.
[128][129][130] The main fear after independence was an invasion by Malaysia.
Israeli Defense Force (IDF) commanders were tasked with creating the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) from scratch, and Israeli instructors were brought in to train Singaporean soldiers. Military courses were conducted according to the IDF's format, and Singapore adopted a system of conscription and reserve service based on
the Israeli model.
[126] Singapore still maintains strong security ties with Israel and is one of the biggest buyers of Israeli arms and weapons systems.
[131] The
MATADOR anti-tank weapon is one example of recent Singaporean–Israeli collaboration.
[132]
The SAF is being developed to respond to a wide range of issues, in both conventional and unconventional warfare. The
Defence Science and Technology Agency is responsible for procuring resources for the military.
[133] The geographic restrictions of Singapore mean that the SAF must plan to fully repulse an attack, as they can not fall back and re-group. The small size of the population has also affected the way the SAF has been designed, with a small active force but a large number of reserves.
[124]
Singapore has
conscription for all able-bodied males at age 18, except those with a criminal record or who can prove that their loss would bring hardship to their families. Males who have yet to complete pre-university education or are awarded the
Public Service Commission scholarship can opt to defer their draft. Though not required to perform military service, the number of women in the SAF has been increasing: since 1989 they have been allowed to fill military vocations formerly reserved for men. Before induction into a specific branch of the armed forces, recruits undergo at least 9 weeks of basic military training.
[134]
Because of the scarcity of open land on the main island, training involving activities such as live firing and
amphibious warfare is often carried out on smaller islands, typically barred to civilian access. This also avoids risk to the main island and the city. However, large-scale drills are considered too dangerous to be performed in the area, and since 1975 have been performed in Taiwan.
[134] Training is also held in about a dozen other countries. In general, military exercises are held with foreign forces once or twice per week.
[124]
Due to airspace and land constraints, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) maintains a number of overseas bases in
Australia, the United States, and France. The RSAF's 130 Squadron is based in
RAAF Base Pearce,
Western Australia,
[135] and its
126 Squadron is based in the
Oakey Army Aviation Centre,
Queensland.
[136] The RSAF has one squadron—the 150 Squadron—based in
Cazaux Air Base in southern
France.
[137][138] The RSAF also has a few overseas detachments in the United States, in
San Diego,
California,
Marana, Arizona,
Grand Prairie, Texas and
Luke Air Force Base, among others.
[139][140]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore