Speech by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen, at the Inauguration of the Heron-1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle into 119 Squadron, UAV Command

Dr Maliki Osman, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and National Development,
Chief of Air Force,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Afternoon.

Over the past two decades, remarkable technological achievements in remote sensing and connectivity have transformed the modern military battlefield. This is not a passing trend but a persistent disruptive change that has already affected both doctrines and orbats of military forces, including the SAF. The inauguration of the Heron 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs today marks another important milestone in the SAF's transformation into a modern and effective fighting force.

This class of UAVs will greatly enhance the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of the SAF. It will provide accurate real-time information and a superior information edge to our commanders. On the ground, soldiers too are utilising UAVs like the Skyblade III mini-UAV, which are so light weight and portable that they can be carried in the backpacks of our infantry soldiers.

The SAF joins other modern militaries in exploiting UAV technology. Currently, some 680 UAV R&D programmes are being carried out around the world, more than a three-fold increase compared to 2005. Over the next decade, total global expenditure on UAVs is expected to further double from its current $6.6 billion to $11.4 billion US dollars annually. The reason for this exponential growth is simple - UAVs allow us to see further, more clearly and instantly.

In the 3rd Generation SAF, the UAV is a critical platform in our network of sensors. The UAV's have realised the vision of SAF's founding pioneers but only through continued investments to develop this capability. In the 70's, our first Defence Minister Dr Goh Keng Swee had astutely remarked that, "For our kind of terrain, we must have Remotely Piloted Vehicles. We must see the enemy without being seen". MINDEF committed to long-term investments in the R&D of UAV systems with DSO and DSTA, and set up the Tactical Air Support Command to undertake the development of UAVs as an operational capability for the SAF. Our persistence has paid off, and in 2007, the SAF was able to establish the UAV Command, to further drive the development of the SAF's UAV capabilities and doctrines, and to integrate them more effectively into our overall concept of operations.

As a result, the SAF today is an advanced user of UAVs. UAVs are used routinely in exercises as well as in operations. In recent integrated exercises such as last year's Exercise Forging Sabre and Exercise Wallaby, UAVs enabled our commanders, planning staff and soldiers to monitor, track and out-manoeuvre opposing forces on the battlefield. In 2010, an SAF UAV Task Group was deployed for the first time to Afghanistan to augment the International Security Assistance Force's surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. The task group carried out over 100 day and night missions amounting to some 450 hours on the Searcher UAV over a period of four months. Each mission provided valuable pieces of information which, when meticulously analysed and disseminated, helped to enhance the security of the Afghan population as well as the international forces. When I visited our units in Oruzgan, the ISAF commanders were very specific to say how great an impact our Imagery Analysis Team together with the Searcher UAV, and the intelligence they provided made; and they are something ISAF wanted more contributions from. The deployment also allowed the task group to gain invaluable operational experience that they have shared with the SAF UAV community back home.

Today, I am pleased to inaugurate the Heron 1 UAV into 119 Squadron. The Heron 1 UAV replaces the Searcher UAV which has been in service with the SAF since 1994. With its extended endurance of over 24 hours of flight that is three times longer than the Searcher UAV, state-of-the-art avionics, imaging sensors and communication systems, the Heron 1 UAV is one of the most advanced UAV systems in the world today. It will provide our commanders, planners and soldiers on the ground, better situational awareness, to make timely and informed decisions to engage the adversary decisively and complete their missions effectively.

The advanced surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities of the Heron 1 UAV are, however, only as effective as the people who operate and maintain them. I would like therefore to commend all of you, the men and women of 119 Squadron, who have worked tirelessly in the last year to ready the Heron 1 UAV systems to support the SAF's operations. Prior to this ceremony, SPS and I were shown the Heron 1 simulator, and were impressed by how the RSAF and the Squadron have creatively melded the latest imagery and simulation technologies with scenario-based training to significantly shorten the learning curve of our UAV pilots.119 Squadron has indeed come a long way in its 14 years of building UAV capabilities and supporting the SAF's surveillance and reconnaissance operations. I am confident that the Squadron with the Heron 1 will continue to achieve high operational standards in delivering timely and precise intelligence. Congratulations and thank you.

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RSAF Inaugurates the Heron 1 UAV into 119 Squadron