DEVELOPMENT OF SAFTI CITY

The SAF urban training facilities built in the 1990s comprising clusters of low-level buildings replicating traditional shop houses and provision shops served the SAF well into the early 2000s. As Singapore faces evolving security threats and challenges, the SAF requires better urban training facilities. SAFTI City is designed to meet such evolving needs of the SAF.

Opened for training since October 2024, SAFTI City supports training for a wider range of operations from peace to war. These include homeland security, counter-terrorism and disaster relief operations. SAFTI City (Phase 1) is designed with various features to provide a realistic and challenging training environment for our soldiers.

FEATURES OF THE SAFTI CITY (PHASE 1)

Realistic and Challenging Training Environment.

a.     An integrated Transport Hub comprising MRT stations, a bus interchange and an office building. The MRT stations feature both above-ground and simulated underground environments. Decommissioned MRT trains have also been reused and deployed in SAFTI City for added realism.

b.     Several high-rise interconnected buildings, dense clusters of shop houses, multiple road networks, as well as other buildings such as community centre, school, malls and hotels, allow for a realistic, challenging and varied training environment.

c.     Building with collapsed roof and walls that simulate damaged infrastructure support training for disaster relief scenarios.

d.     Drains provide a realistic and safe subterranean environment for troop movement, offering an alternate approach towards an objective, with added cover and concealment.

Innovative Infrastructure.

a.     Built-in swing panels allow road networks, traffic flow and buildings to be configured and customised to our training needs. This also allows soldiers to experience fresh training scenarios each time they train at SAFTI City.

b.     False facades^[1]  are employed to increase the density of SAFTI City, replicating dominating tall buildings to simulate realism, while keeping costs manageable. These buildings and floors can be equipped with targets armed with shoot-back capability for our soldiers to engage.

c.     Windows are built with mesh instead of glass to minimise maintenance costs. When required, they can be configured with glass panels to allow breaking of glass window as part of training.

Smart Technology. Approximately 11,000 sensors are deployed in buildings within SAFTI City. This will allow the tracking of soldiers when they are within SAFTI City, and enables soldiers who are equipped with the laser-based Tactical Engagement System (TES) to simulate engagement on the buildings.

a.     Building Instrumentation. SAFTI City buildings are instrumented with sensors that allows the live-tracking of soldiers when they are within SAFTI City. The sensors also allow soldiers and vehicles to simulate engagement of the buildings and of targets hiding within the buildings. The sound effect systems project battlefield environment noises for added immersion.

b.     Targets with “shoot back” capability. Soldiers and smart targets are instrumented with sensors for monitoring and data capturing. The smart targets are able to identify and engage soldiers in both day and night conditions. Key targetry systems are:

i.     Static 2D Target Boards can flip-up or turn around to simulate sudden engagements, while Static 3D Mannequin Targets are able to simulate an enemy in different fighting postures. These targets can also replicate human thermal signature, enhancing soldiers’ training with their Night Fighting Equipment (NFE); training their ability to spot the target’s body heat with their NFE.

ii.     Mobile 3D Mannequin Targets are mounted on wheels to simulate enemy patrols and reinforcements. They can operate at a speed of up to 10km/h and can also replicate human thermal signature to enhance training with existing NFE.

c.     Battlefield Effect Simulators (BES). Smoke generators, blast simulators, weapon signature simulators, ground burst simulators are used to enhance training realism by simulating sights, sounds and effects that soldiers may encounter in an operational environment, without use of pyrotechnics. The BES aims to condition our soldiers to the stresses of being in the battlefield, to enable them to be more effective in real operations.

d.     Data Analytics. Building instrumentation and video cameras will be employed to track our soldiers’ location and actions in real-time. Furthermore, training performance will be collated and processed by an analytics system to provide feedback to the troops on their individual and collective performances. These technological improvements enable the SAF to train more efficiently and effectively.

e.     Gamification. Mission performance metrics can be generated to evaluate soldiers’ performance level, thereby enhancing soldiers’ engagement in training.

Training Capacity. At 17Ha but a GFA of 105,000sqm (as compared to Murai Urban Training Facility that takes up 27Ha but only a GFA of 35,000sqm), the dense layout of multiple mid to high-rise buildings in SAFTI City increased training capacity significantly.

a.     Up to six company sectors (~600 soldiers) for component training.

b.     Up to two Battalion-level (~1200 soldiers) mission exercises or evaluations.

[1] False facades are buildings with an empty atrium as interior. They contain walkways with staircases for access to enable placement of smart targetry systems. There are no actual rooms in these structures. 

More Resources

Singapore's First Instrumented High-Rise Urban Training Facility

Launch of SAFTI City: The SAF's Next Generation Smart Training Facility