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Minister for Defence Visits Exercise Wallaby 2025
6 October 2025
Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing visited Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops participating in Exercise Wallaby (XWB) at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Queensland, Australia yesterday.
Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing visited Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops participating in Exercise Wallaby (XWB) at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Queensland, Australia yesterday.
XWB is the SAF’s largest overseas exercise and is held at the SWBTA. This year marks its 35th edition. This year’s exercise is held from 7 September to 2 November 2025, and involves over 5,000 SAF personnel and over 500 platforms from the Singapore Army, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS).
As part of his programme, Mr Chan observed the exercise and visited Camp Tilpal, as well as the Urban Operations Live Fire Facility (UOLF), which was jointly developed by the SAF and Australian Defence Force (ADF). He also observed trials of new technologies by the SAF and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA). Mr Chan engaged SAF personnel and SAF Volunteer Corps (SAFVC) volunteers participating in XWB, and commended them for their professionalism and commitment to their training. This year marks the first time SAFVC volunteers are participating in XWB alongside full-time National Servicemen, NSmen and Regulars.
Speaking at the end of his visit, Mr Chan highlighted that the extent of cross-service integration the SAF has achieved in XWB 2025 is at a greater scale and level than before. He said “I am very happy to see that we keep improving the training we have here – greater integration across the Army, Digital and Intelligence Service, Air Force, and with the Defence Technology Community, such that we are able to innovate at speed. We were not able to do these in the initial years of Exercise Wallaby, but we are now able to do this, and at a much bigger scale than before”.
Mr Chan expressed appreciation for the support from the Australian government and local community for the SAF’s training at SWBTA. He said, “We must thank Australia. Without their help, we would not have been able to train at Shoalwater Bay under Exercise Wallaby for the past 35 years. It is through their generosity that we have been able to train and hone the SAF’s capabilities for an entire generation”.
While in Queensland, Mr Chan hosted a dinner for leaders from the Australian government, the ADF, and the local community, to express Singapore's appreciation for their strong and long-standing support of the SAF’s training in Australia. The dinner was attended by Australia Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans’ Affairs and Northern Australia Luke Gosling.
The SAF and the ADF share a long history of defence cooperation, with extensive interactions that include high-level visits, cross-attendance of courses, professional exchanges, and the conduct of bilateral and multilateral exercises. These interactions anchor bilateral defence cooperation and deepen the relationship between both armed forces.
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