Fact Sheet: Exercise Forging Sabre 2025 – ‘Integrated, Adaptive, Precise’

Exercise Forging Sabre 2025 (XFS25) is a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) integrated sense and strike exercise involving more than 800 personnel from across the SAF and Defence Technology Community. It will include a suite of sense and strike assets, systems and warfighting platforms from the Singapore Army, Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS). Held from 6 to 21 September 2025 at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, US, XFS25 allows the SAF to conduct large-scale and realistic training in a vast training area with an airspace more than 20 times the size of Singapore.

This year’s exercise theme of ‘Integrated, Adaptive, Precise’ reflects the SAF’s sharp edge in an increasingly complex battlespace. This year’s XFS will allow the SAF to (a) exercise seamless integration across multiple domains, (b) learn and adapt from evolving conflicts, and (c) conduct timely and precise sense and strike effects to achieve mission success.

SAF as a Technologically Advanced, Networked and Integrated Fighting Force

Conducted biennially, this year's exercise is the tenth iteration in the XFS series that began in 2005. XFS has provided the opportunity for the SAF to drill, validate and experiment with strike capabilities and different concepts of operations over the past 20 years.

1. Evolution of assets, systems and warfighting platforms. The inaugural XFS in 2005 saw the participation of the F-16s, Searcher UAV, Army’s Commando forces, artillery, and baseline Command and Control Information System (CCIS). Over the years, other systems joined the exercise, such as the HIMARS which conducted its first live firing in 2009, and the A330 MRTT which first participated in 2019. This year, the upgraded F-16, F-15SG supported by the A330 MRTT and Heron 1 UAV will participate in the exercise. A more advanced CCIS powered by increased automation, digital-fusion capabilities, and smarter decision-making modules will also be deployed. The RSAF will also introduce a variety of micro/mini-Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for surveillance operations. The enhanced capabilities, coupled with tighter manned-unmanned integration have significantly expanded and deepened the SAF’s ability to strike targets with precision on the battlefield.

2. Increased Scale and Complexity of Exercise. Over the years, the exercise has grown in scale and complexity, enabled by the expansion of the exercise area. From an area twice the size of Singapore with over 300 exercise participants in the first edition of XFS, the exercise area for XFS25 has grown and spans more than 20-times Singapore’s size and with more than twice the number of exercise participants.

3. Tighter Operations-Intelligence (Ops-Int) integration within the SAF’s Sense-Strike ecosystem. XFS has provided a platform for Ops-Int integration to further strengthen the SAF’s sense-strike capabilities. During the exercise, intelligence analysts from the DIS support the RSAF’s operations through the analysis of threats and provision of intelligence support. The DIS’ participation in XFS illustrates how the strong DIS-RSAF partnership enhances strike operations through improved overall battlefield situational awareness.

SAF’s swift adaptation in a rapidly evolving threat environment

The SAF has taken concrete steps to learn from recent conflicts. XFS25 underscores the SAF’s commitment to (a) realise Software as a Capability (SaaC), (b) expand Manned-Unmanned Integration for SAF Strike Operations, and (c) maintain operational resilience in a contested and degraded environment.

1. Realising SaaC. This year’s exercise features the inaugural participation of RAiD (RSAF Agile innovation Digital). RAiD will be working with a team from the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) to harness digital solutions and data analytics to enhance the SAF’s strike Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act (OODA) loop, through agile app modification in-theatre.

2. Expanding Manned-Unmanned Integration in the SAF. XFS25 will witness the expanded use of unmanned platforms to operate alongside manned platforms for integrated strike operations. Specifically, a spectrum of drones and UAVs will be synchronised with manned platforms to execute the SAF’s strike mission. The newly established drone unit – Drone Rapid Operationalisation, Integration and Deployment (DROID) unit^[1], under the UAS Warfare and Tactics Centre (UWTC) will  participate and trial small commercially available drones, leveraging  the unique characteristics of each system to enhance situational awareness and provide customised sensing solutions.  This expanded manned-unmanned integration is achieved through a strong collaborative ops-tech relationship with the Defence Technology Community.

3. Maintaining Ops Resilience. XFS will demonstrate how the SAF is able to resilient against countermeasures such as electronic warfare, to continue operations despite being in  contested and degraded environments.