Speech by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Defence Technology Prize Award Ceremony

PS(DD)
Chief Defence Scientist,
CE DSTA, CEO DSO,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon.

Thank you for inviting me to today's ceremony. It's a very important time. I wrote yesterday as a preview on my Facebook that (those in) defence technology are like silent warriors. Not that you are silent but many of you are not allowed to speak. And you toil very hard, consistently make great breakthroughs, and sometimes there are no loud cheers, just a quiet satisfaction of knowing that you made a really remarkable advancement for our national defence. So it's a good occasion, an important one that we do what we can to acknowledge this community. I know for a fact that you are not driven by this, you know, there is no bungalow at the end of this. It's just that one, a crystal. It’s a token. It's a very simple way of thanking you for all your efforts, and all of us - it's icing on a cake, as Permanent Secretary (Defence Development) says - all of us sometimes like that. You are not driven by it but it's just a soft affirmation that what you have done is recognised, is appreciated, is valued. And when I speak to this community, especially to many of you who dream about technology during your sleep, I don't think I need to convince any of you that our society is driven by technological advancements. If you look around, for example, I don't think there is a single facet in our society, whether it is business, leisure, education, defence of course, or even the arts, that is untouched; that escaped the disruptive trends that technology brings.

You look at our National Day Parade (NDP). Every year, it's become more and more technologically in-depth. Previously the show was what you see on the Floating Platform and the screens at the backdrop add to it. For the past few years, the screens at the backdrop have become the main item. So my first question to the NDP Organising Committee is "Are your LED screens rainproof?" So that is how even in entertainment, we are driven by technological change.

There is now another arena in which technology plays a crucial role - that of transmission of ideas and influence. That’s quite obvious, but if you think about it, there have been breakthroughs, and this was inevitable because today's internet, users' - yours and mine - the minute differences; our preferences can be differentiated. Narrowcasting; narrowcasting to the point that we can differentiate. So cookies track what you like, what your surfing habits are and obviously this is big commercial potential, right? So big data analytics can cluster individuals into marketable groups. So, one particular day I ordered some stuff on the net, and I noticed that whenever I surfed, there was a product that kept springing up, so I said, "Wow this company is spending a lot on advertising. Every site I go, he is there!" Obviously that's not the truth. This site is tracking me! Not that he has put his advertisements on every site that I surf. But big business has gone even further. They can tell what shade of lipstick you like, what type of shoes (you like), and they can market to you. If you look at the Forbes companies now, the new companies, that’s their value add. You may be a commodity purchaser, but that's not your value add, that’s not where the margins are. The margins are being able to differentiate between groups, what one person's preferences are so I can market selectively to you.

Not surprising then that even international terrorists are using the social media for their cause. You've heard of this phrase "jihadist porn".

They have learnt how Which are the people with superficial understanding of religion. How to package their products to trap you, to suck you into false ideologies to bring you over to Iraq and Syria. (They are) that powerful. So, I told Parliament recently where Ministry of Home Affairs disclosed earlier was our self-radicalised Singaporean. He had been self-radicalised; detained. We let him out and he got sucked in again by this desire to go to Syria and Iraq so they had to re-detain him because he was about to go. It is a very powerful influence. Currently there are an estimated 10 to 20,000 foreigners that are reported to be in Iraq and Syria, many of whom have joined ISIS, including some from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The terrorists have learntto radicalise such people with a superficial understanding of religion, using inflammatory, provocative words and pictures to mislead them into thinking that they ought to sacrifice themselves for a worthy cause. Of course it's false. It's entirely against Islam, as our Muslim community has said and our Mufti has rejected. How to use technology to counter this? Because this is a digital battle.

As agencies in the security sector, we have to think how we can counter these false ideologies, whether it is against religious extremism or other traditional security threats. Because if you think about it - you work on products, you work on software - but what is the most powerful weapon? It’s really what people believe in.

What people believe in, will affect their resolve, their actions that come out from it, and will ultimately determine the outcome. So I feel very strongly that the defence tech community must come into this. We have to collaborate with others, on the net, as we do in the real world.

The community has a role to play. For example, when we have people who are radicalised, we have the Religious Rehabilitation Group that meet them to counter the spread of extremism, and they promote awareness of Islam's true values and concepts, so it helps to de-radicalise them. They do it in real life, but how do we do this on social media? It is as important a challenge as it is in the real world, because not only do we prevent people from being radicalised. For example, for captured terrorist from Jemaah Islamiyah, many of them have been de-radicalised and put back into society.

So whether it is in the field of communicating to one another , control of ideas, control systems, or weaponry, your community - the defence scientists, technologists and engineers - play key roles. And as I said, it is important to recognise and celebrate your winning achievements, as we are doing today.

I am happy to note that there are many positive examples as Chief Defence Scientist has said that others can emulate. For example, our engineers have worked hard to integrate the new SPYDER ground-based air defence system This is much needed because we need faster response time to airborne threats and greater precision. This was possible with the use of warning sensors like the Giraffe Agile Multiple Beam Radar that helps us to detect small, low flying objects such as helicopters, and as I had announced recently, which will be reinforced by our tethered aerostat to be deployed next year. The SPYDER will complement other air defence systems, such as the ASTER 30, the upgraded I-Hawk and the RBS-70 air defence systems.

Another example of how we harness technology to expand the use of our existing platforms is the unmanned M113. It was designed, as you know, as an armoured personnel carrier, but our engineers gave it a twist; gave it remote navigation capability. With that capability, actually we have expanded the envelope of what we can use M113 for. We can imagine using it to clear mines if we needed to. And in situations that our troops are put in harm's way - to mitigate the risks.

I think it is fitting today that the achievements of three of the five DTP Team winners this year are aiding the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)'s transformation into an advanced networked force.

Let me name them - The Missile Corvette (MCV) Upgrade Team. This was a team from DSTA, ST and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN); one of the winners today. The upgrade of the 20 year-old fleet not only gave our MCVs an increased lifespan, but also enhanced its capabilities significantly. The MCV is the first of its kind for a Corvette-class to inter-operate an Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for extended durations, and this allows the RSN to have greater persistence for surveillance. Now our MCVs are faster, can look further, and operate as part of a larger force.

The technology behind the communications and tactical networking equipment on board the MCV was made possible through the work of another prize-winning team: This was the Navy Datalink System Team and this team came from DSO National Labs (DSO), Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and RSN. Basically but very importantly the team's work allowed more data to be transmitted faster through high frequency radios. And this also allowed different types of radio and satellite communications equipment on board to work together on a single network. These better communication networks are essential and recently in our exercises - CARAT and MALAPURA, it showed visible improvement in our capabilities - that we successfully launched and hit various targets.

Mr Harry Han of DSO has been spearheading this work for the Navy. His R&D achievements have also used by the Army and the Air Force. He is a second time winner, previously won in 2012 for the Army's tactical network system . Mr Han joins two other winners - Mr Tan Ah Tuan from DSTA, who has improved our cyber defence systems and networks and Ms Lee Yoke Ming from Advanced Technology Research Centre for her research in explosives. Let’s give them a hand.

Let me thank all of you in this community for enabling the SAF to become the technologically advanced fighting force it is today. But as I said at the outset, you deserve much more attention, recognition and praise that you really do each day to day. But I know you don't work for praise, you work because you believe in this and I am confident that all of you will continue to push the boundaries of technology through your ingenuity, your innovation, your passion and commitment, because you believe that that's your contribution to keep Singapore safe, secure and strong. Thank you again and congratulations to all the winners this afternoon.