This chapter provides brief contours of conceptual, organizational, and technological developments of AI intertwined within Singapore’s defense and military innovation paths. It starts by outlining Singapore’s evolving approach to AI and emerging technologies as a dynamic confluence of strategic, technological, ethical, and defense policy drivers in a much broader and comprehensive civil-military framework, which aims to balance AI-driven tech innovation, organizational agility, economic and defense capability development while adhering to responsible AI governance policies. As AI gradually permeates Singapore’s multilayered ‘Total Defense’ strategy, including its Military Defense pillar, Singapore’s thinking about defense AI is driven through broader technological innovation and defense management imperatives, not only in meeting the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) operational requirements but, perhaps more importantly, sustainment of these technologies and capabilities in synergistic applications within Singapore’s civil-military innovation ecosystem. Taken together, military AI development can be seen in Singapore’s indicative desire to maintain its qualitative “strategic edge” or credible deterrence, defense capacity, and resilience amidts progressive complexity of security challenges of the twenty-first century and technological disruptions, while mitigating internal socio-economic constraints and resource limitations. In the process, the development of AI in defense is conditioned by defense policy imperatives for responsible innovation and AI governance—pursuing a multilateral, risk-based, and human-centric approach toward responsible, reliable, robust, and safe AI in defense innovation and military use.

The second part of the chapter then highlights Singapore’s development approaches and methods to AI in defense. Specifically, its highlights the evolving ‘Ops-Tech’ model of defense innovation, which focuses on deep operational understanding, technological expertise, and collaborative connections among various actors in Singapore’s defense ecosystem. Key drivers for Singapore's defense AI include organizational aspects such as collaborative defense networks involving the military, government agencies, and increasingly private tech companies and start-ups sharing data and best practices to tackle Singapore’s complex security challenges and risks in innovative ways.

The final section of the chapter assesses Singapore’s implementation of AI-oriented defense and military innovation. It delves into specific examples of SAF’s digitization, robotization, and sensor revolution in the context of the SAF 2040 transformation, and the recent establishment of the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS)—a fourth service of the SAF on par with the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The implementation of the AI-driven SAF 2040 effectively signifies a major military shift as it opens new strategic and operational frontiers for the SAF with concomitant opportunities, risks, and challenges. Ultimately, one could argue that diffusion of the AI wave in Singapore’s security and defense is reaching a tipping point, in which emerging technologies are re-making Singapore’s entire defense ecosystem.

Prior to the analysis, it's important to note a caveat. Except for Singapore’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2.0 (2023), which focuses on Singapore’s AI development in civilian arenas, there hasn't been an official document to date providing a comprehensive and detailed view of Singapore’s defense or military AI strategy, budgeting and resource allocation,Footnote 1 military-technological priorities, defense innovation ecosystem, military-tech governance, and private-sector partnerships. Indeed, much of the data on Singapore’s AI defense programs, initiatives and trajectories, including funding details, remains classified. Despite the veil of secrecy, however, the trajectory of military AI in Singapore transcends purely military-technological and defense-organizational domains—it must be situated in the broader context of strategic nexus of Singapore’s external foreign/defense and internal public policies that have shaped Singapore’s technological and socio-economic development. Nevertheless, it is still possible to ‘connect the dots’ on Singapore’s evolving strategic thinking, trajectory, and implementation of military AI using publicly available data such as statements, speeches, interviews, and press releases of the Ministry of Defense (MINDEF), SAF, Defense Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), and other government agencies as primary authoritative sources.

1 Thinking About Defense AI

Singapore’s strategic rationale for developing AI in defense and military innovation stems from a complex interplay of strategic considerations, driven by its unique circumstances and national security concerns. These begin with Singapore’s perennial geostrategic constants: historical experience of vulnerability, lack of strategic depth, limited resources, and asymmetries in demography, which stipulate the need to keep Singapore’s military as high-tech as possible—maintaining a qualitative ‘strategic edge’ to ensure credible deterrence, defense, and resilience (Raska 2016: 146). This enduring rationale is apparent when considering ‘disruptive’ convergence of contending geopolitics and military-technological arms competition in the Indo-Pacific over the past decade, as well as internal factors such as increasing demographic constraints, and socio-economic growth imperatives (Loo 2015). At the same time, however, the diffusion of Singapore’s defense AI must be situated in a much broader and comprehensive civil-military framework, which balances AI-driven tech innovation, organizational agility, and operational security under evolving policies of responsible AI governance (Harjani et al. 2020). Therefore, thinking about defense AI in Singapore’s strategic context must begin with its civilian ‘AI strategy’ roadmap, and recently published National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS 2.0)—and then projecting its applicability into the defense and military domain, particularly the evolving ‘Total Defense’ (TD) strategic concept, and its military applications.

1.1 Singapore’s Evolving AI Strategies

In December 2023, Singapore unveiled an updated version of its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS 2.0)—reflecting Singapore’s commitment to become a global leader in the responsible and innovative use of AI, while providing a whole-of-government roadmap to accelerate AI adoption to unlock its economic and social benefits (Smart Nation Singapore 2023). While the NAIS 2.0 does not focus on AI in defense per se, it demonstrates Singapore’s strategic thought on AI—an adaptive approach to AI-driven technological innovation, balancing rapid advancements in technology with responsible implementation. The NAIS 2.0 is also product of a decade-long evolution of AI research, development, and collaborations between industry, academia, and government, driving progress in AI-related fields in Singapore (Chia 2023b). From the early foundations of the Smart Nation concept in 2014 (Lee 2014), to the first AI Strategy—A National Roadmap in 2019, Singapore has pursued a comprehensive approach to AI adoption across its civilian sectors, from healthcare to finance. In the process, the evolving strategic roadmap established active testbed platforms for National AI Projects, including the development of AI workforce and computational resources with over 150 research and development teams, and 900 startups established since 2019 (Chia 2023a).

With the technological acceleration and exponential advancements in AI capabilities over the past 5 years, Singapore updated the strategy in 2023. It aims to build a trusted and responsible AI ecosystem, driving innovation and growth through AI, and empowering people and business to understand and engage with AI. Specifically, the strategy seeks to attract more international companies and talent to transform Singapore into an AI research hub by increasing research funding and creating a regulatory environment conducive to innovation. With five actions across three system areas and ten enablers, the NAIS 2.0 represents a strategic maturation of AI-thought in Singapore regarding responsible innovation, AI ethics, trustworthiness, and inclusive benefits. Moreover, the strategy is dynamic—it anticipates continuous updates and refinements to keep pace with evolving AI technologies (Tham 2023).

Parallel with NAIS 2.0, Singapore has focused on developing a new governance framework for generative AI—the Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI (MGF-GenAI), with an initial draft presented in January 2024 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (Table 1). The MGF-GenAI, developed by the AI Verify Foundation and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority, seeks to develop a comprehensive and trusted AI ecosystem, and serve as a toolkit for addressing global risks associated with the use of generative AI—i.e. providing guidance on the safety evaluation and testing of GenAI models (IMDA 2024). By presenting the MGF-GenAI model, Singapore supports international engagement and cooperation in regulating and researching GenAI, in addition to other multilateral and avenues such as at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, and bilateral cooperation efforts such as alignment with the US’ AI Risk Management Framework (Goh 2024). While neither the NAIS 2.0 nor MGF-GenAI have a dedicated section on military AI, both indirectly yet profoundly influence the future of defense AI in Singapore—through their principles and strategic directions.

Table 1 Model AI governance framework for generative AI (MGF-GenAI)
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1.2 Integrating AI in Singapore's 'Total Defense' Strategy

The overarching philosophy of AI governance embedded in the NAIS 2.0 and MGF-GenAI –ethical and responsible AI, explainability and transparency, collaboration and inclusivity, and human-centric-AI—has significant implications for the direction and character of AI strategic thought, particularly in the context of integrating AI into Singapore’s TD strategy, organizational structures, technological capabilities.

The TD strategy (Table 2), introduced in 1984, aims to unite all sectors of society—government, business, and people—to sustain Singapore’s resolve, unity, and defense capabilities (MINDEF 1995: 1). Initially consisting of five and now six interdependent defense pillars –military, civil, economic, social, psychological, and digital—TD has evolved over the past four decades and essentially became a symbol of Singapore’s security identity, resilience, and adaptability. Indeed, Singapore’s conceptions of defense reflect a continuity and change in adapting the TD strategy to evolving geostrategic, political, economic, technological, and socio-economic challenges (Zachariah 2023). Accordingly, one could argue that the diffusion of AI coupled with disruptive impact of emerging technologies is revamping Singapore’s approaches to TD, presenting both opportunities and challenges. In 2022, for example, MINDEF launched a TD review, including the ‘Total Defense Sandbox’ ground-up initiative aimed to test new ideas, projects, prototypes, and potential solutions for current and potential future challenges such as AI-enabled cyber threats (MINDEF 2022a, b, c).

Table 2 Overview of Singapore’s total defense strategy
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The diffusion of AI-driven technological innovation is gradually permeating into each pillar of Singapore’s evolving TD concepts, organizations, and capabilities. On the one hand, AI promises to enhance Singapore’s multi-faceted approach to security and defense, strategically strengthening the resilience of each pillar. Yet, at the same time, the development and integration of AI brings a range of risks, vulnerabilities, and uncertainties. Accordingly, thinking about AI in Singapore’s defense context arguably reflects a continuous balancing between technological innovation, organizational agility, resource efficiency, and security of each TD pillar (Matthews and Fitriani 2023). Navigating this ‘problematique’ can be seen in Table 3, which outlines illustrative promises and perils of AI in TD.

Table 3 AI opportunities and risks in Singapore’s total defense strategy
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1.3 AI in Military Defense

By charting the evolving AI impact on the broader TD concept, it is possible to understand the strategic rationale for pursuing AI in Singapore’s ‘Military Defense’ pillar, namely through three mutually supporting functions: (1) AI as intelligence enabler, (2) technology disruptor and force multiplier, and (3) defense diplomacy anchor. In doing so, Singapore is pursuing AI in defense in conjunction with other emerging technologies as a way to mitigate adverse effects of external geopolitical, technological, and internal demographic disruptions of the 21st century.

1.4 AI as Intelligence Enabler

Each pillar in TD, including Military Defense, embraces the need for long-term strategic foresight and intelligence—a combination of long-term horizon scanning risk/net assessment methodologies –, which is now increasingly augmented by AI-enabled data collection, processing, and analysis. The aim is to identify and monitor potential threats or disruptions and deliver potential solutions and policy options in advance of need. For example, in military and economic defense, Singapore’s national security is not threatened as much by a single country, but by a disruption of commerce (Huxley 2000).

The potential risks become apparent when noting Singapore’s geostrategic disposition. Singapore is a small island city-state of 719 square km—the smallest state in Southeast Asia. Its geographic location at the southern end of the Straits of Malacca crosses some of the most important Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) in the world, linking the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, which carry a major portion of the world’s trade. The Malacca and Singapore Straits carry more than 40% of the world’s commerce, half of the world’s oil and 80% of oil bound for China and Japan (Maritime Executive 2018). Strategically, Singapore’s position coupled with its deep natural harbor provides a hub for maritime trade in Southeast Asia, connecting trade routes between Asia, Europe, America, and the Middle East, significantly contributing to Singapore’s socio-economic prosperity. Accordingly, Singapore’s strategic location and absence of natural resources amplify its extreme dependency on the outside world, which requires the need for early warning, timely intelligence analysis, and persistent situational awareness of external environment.

Therefore, Singapore sees the integration of AI systems and machine-learning algorithms as an intelligence enabler for processing vast amounts of data—determining who needs what and when, in predictive analysis—identifying indicators to events rather than the events themselves (Chia 2018). Singapore’s government has dedicated units for scenario planning, horizon scanning, and threat anticipation, which are integrating diverse functional expertise, including AI systems and machine learning models for data fusion and analysis – making sense of massive amounts of structured and unstructured data from diverse sources, and integrating multiple intelligence streams using AI-powered data fusion techniques, natural language processing algorithms, and AI orchestration tools. Indeed, nearly all strategically significant agencies, including MINDEF with its Security and Intelligence Division (SID), have dedicated foresight teams. For example, the Centre for Strategic Futures—a Strategy Group in the Prime Minister’s Office, provides the highest levels of Singapore government with the ability to “navigate emerging strategic challenges and harness potential opportunities” in multiple ways: building capacity and providing strategic foresight and risk management by training public servants; doing strategic foresight work—gathering insights on emerging trends and identifying signals of change; and by communicating and disseminating insights to decision- and policymakers across all of government (CSF 2023). 

1.5 AI as Force Multiplier

AI technologies in Singapore’s military defense coupled with the development and integration of unmanned systems, are seen as robust force multipliers for the SAF (Koh 2021). By combining AI-systems, cloud, and data science, automating tasks, improving decision-making, and maximizing the effectiveness of its small but well-trained force, the SAF can be better equipped to carry out their multifaceted missions (Table 4). This becomes apparent when considering Singapore’s geostrategic asymmetries and resource constraints, which amplify the principal challenge for Singapore’s defense planners: how to translate Singapore’s limited resources of a small island nation into an effective defense capability amid the progressive range and complexity of security challenges (Raska 2021).

Table 4 AI as force multiplier for the SAF
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Singapore’s defense planning projections have been shifting over the past decade by the confluence of multiple ‘disruptive’ strategic challenges and uncertainties. There are at least three mutually integrated ‘disruptive’ vectors:

  • Changing geopolitics prompting the need to plan for attendant consequences of growing Sino-U.S. strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.

  • Regional disparities in addressing unresolved historical legacies and tensions surrounding critically important geopolitical hotspots such as Taiwan, Korean Peninsula, and the South China Sea.

  • The diffusion of emerging technologies as power projection capabilities in the region and resulting changes in the character of warfare, including the rise of cyber-enabled information/hybrid conflicts.

As a result of the increasing convergence of ‘old’ and ‘new’ security threats, Singapore faces a competing strategic landscape and relative uncertainty about which types of adversaries and contingencies will be the most consequential. From terrorism to responding to Sino-U.S. strategic competition, the SAF faces competing operational requirements, which are likely to increase further. If so, Singapore’s defense planners must answer anew how the SAF should build a force and doctrine capable of dealing simultaneously with current security threats while anticipating future challenges.

This includes internal demographic and population constraints, reflecting continuous low-level birthrates, an ageing population, and a smaller talent pool. In 2022, Singapore’s birth rate reached a record low of 1.05 (Ng 2023). If this trend continues, the SAF’s manpower supply for its National Service (NS)—mandatory conscription—is projected to decrease by one-third by 2030 (Kor 2017). Consequently, the SAF 2040, a strategic blueprint for SAF force transformation in the twenty-first century, entails comprehensive AI adoption and adaptation in nearly all aspects of defense planning and military operations as force multipliers to amplify existing defense capabilities, while generating novel capabilities (Cheng 2016; MINDEF 2023a).

1.6 AI Governance as Defense Diplomacy Anchor

The diffusion of AI in Singapore’s military is not only primarily about technology and military capability to ensure its strategic edge for deterrence, but also about the need to pursue defense diplomacy focusing on the need for responsible development and use of AI in the military domain. In a 2009 lecture on the “Fundamentals of Singapore’s Foreign Policy: Then & Now” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Diplomatic Academy, Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew explained the rationale for Singapore’s approach to diplomacy in general, which might also explain the importance of Singapore’s defense diplomacy:

(A) small country must seek a maximum number of friends while maintaining the freedom to be itself as a sovereign and independent nation. Both parts of the equation—a maximum number of friends and freedom to be ourselves—are equally important and inter-related. (To achieve this), we must make ourselves relevant so that other countries have an interest in our continued survival and prosperity as a sovereign and independent nation; we must be different from others in our neighborhood and have a competitive edge. Because we have been able to do so, Singapore has risen over our geographical and resource constraints, and has been accepted as a serious player in regional and international fora (Lee 2009).

Singapore’s defense diplomacy portfolio is broad and involves close and friendly ties with many of the armed forces of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, bilateral defense relations with countries in the wider Asia-Pacific region, including the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and India, and friendly ties with armed forces in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East (MINDEF 2021a). Historically, defense diplomacy has enabled the SAF to overcome the limitations of Singapore’s land and airspace. Various units of the SAF, predominantly the Army and Air Force, have maintained long-term training detachments overseas in friendly countries, including Australia, Brunei, France, Germany, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwan, the United States, and other states. SAF’s overseas training exercises and presence provide various benefits—from acquiring diverse training experiences, operational readiness, and accelerated technological assimilation to benchmarking SAF’s abilities against more capable militaries and building sustained defense diplomacy that supports Singapore’s long-term strategic interests (MINDEF 2018a).

Similarly, regarding AI, Singapore approaches defense diplomacy through a multi-pronged strategy, recognizing the interconnected nature of technological progress, responsible adoption, and collaboration both regionally and globally. Specifically, the Defense Policy Group (DPG) under MINDEF, which includes Defense Policy Office (DPO) with the Strategy and Futures Group (SFG), actively engage in international forums and dialogues on AI in defense, such as those at the United Nations and ASEAN forums, including representation at the OECD Network of Experts on AI, Global Partnership on AI, AI Partnership for Defense, and REAIM (Responsible AI in Military domain) process. In the process, Singapore advocates for a collaborative, risk-based approach to ethical and responsible AI development and deployment in military domain.

In this context, Singapore has pursued collaborative partnerships with major AI powers, including the U.S., France, Australia, and others. For example, in 2023, SG MINDEF and France's Ministry of the Armed Forces (MOAF) signed an agreement to establish a Joint Research & Development Laboratory (Joint Lab) to develop AI capabilities. Similarly, as part of the 2023 “US-Singapore Critical and Emerging Technology Dialogue”, Singapore’s MINDEF and the US Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) agreed to formalize a partnership to accelerate the use of commercial and dual-use technologies such as autonomy, digital technologies, and AI, and strengthen integration of both countries defense innovation ecosystems. By fostering strategic partnerships with key regional and global partners for AI, Singapore is able to contribute to the development of global norms on AI governance. In 2021, Singapore’s MINDEF established Singapore’s preliminary guiding principles for AI governance in defense innovation and military use as depicted in Table 5. While these principles inherently shape the direction and character for AI research and development (R&D) and deployment in Singapore’s defense technology community, they also serve as an anchor for promoting Singapore’s AI defense diplomacy and strategy - advocating for responsible, safe, reliable, and robust development and use of AI in security and defense.

Table 5 Singapore’s preliminary guiding principles for defense AI (2021)
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2 Developing Defense AI

The development of defense AI in Singapore's defense ecosystem proceeds along multiple paths simultaneously (Table 6)- including: (1) technological capability development - i.e. AI as intelligence enabler and force multiplier; (2) organizational changes – restructuring of services and units to enhance organizational agility and adaptability to absorb emerging technologies, including AI; (3) talent development – investing in training programs and talent acquisition strategies to equip SAF personnel with the necessary skills for future operations; and (4) international collaboration and defense diplomacy – engaging in technology partnerships with other nations. At the strategic level, Singapore’s MINDEF employs a multi-year capability planning framework for the SAF. This includes multi-year strategic plans that define the direction and character of the SAF’s military modernization, such as the ‘SAF 2040’ roadmap and its capability requirements, technological acquisition priorities, and overall military modernization trajectories—including the development of AI systems and technologies. In parallel, the SAF develops specific operational concepts and master plans, which are classified (MINDEF 2023b). According to MINDEF, the design of operational concepts is mostly service driven, while the varying operational master plans and engineering master plans identify required system architectures and technologies for specific capability development such as AI.

Table 6 Conceptualizing Singapore’s AI-driven defense innovation
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The purpose of the master plans is to ensure that Singapore’s defense capabilities not only meet future user requirements for the SAF but can also be sustained in the long term through ‘cost-effective’ defense management and ‘adaptive’ systems integration (DSTA 2016). While specific details remain confidential, MINDEF releases factsheets and provides occasional media briefings that offer a glimpse into its priorities, programs, and initiatives. Perhaps the most detailed authoritative source of SAF’s military modernization are annual statements from the Singapore Parliament Committee of Supply Debates, which outline SAF’s focus areas and resource allocation imperatives. For example, the integration of AI, cyber defense, and unmanned systems in the SAF; continued modernization of the SAF’s Land, Sea, and Air Forces including the acquisition of F-35B fighter jets and Archer artillery systems; promoting interoperability through enhanced training and exercises to hone operational readiness; and ongoing collaboration with international partners and joint exercises to counter diverse security challenges (MINDEF 2023c).

Another core feature of Singapore’s AI development in defense is a focus on indigenous defense innovation and its civil-military integration through a collaborative framework of 'Ops-Tech' approach—integrate operations (Ops) with technology (Tech) across all pillars of national security, including military defense (MINDEF 2023b).

The idea is to combine a deep operational understanding, technological expertise, and collaborative culture between the varying actors in Singapore’s ‘defense ecosystem’—the users (SAF), developers (MINDEF, DSTA, DSO dual-use R&D labs, defense research institutes like Temasek Labs, start-ups), and producers (local defense industries such as ST Engineering) as well as Singapore’s select foreign strategic partners. The goal of the broader Defense Technology Community (DTC) is a spiral development of technological capabilities, including AI systems, and tailored solutions that would integrate select AI technologies into existing platforms and systems or newly acquired equipment (MINDEF 2023b). In turn, the SAF then provides feedback loops on their performance validation and verification, system safety, reliability and maintainability, logistic support, and other factors. In doing so, however, Ops-Tech development in the DTC is not only about a joint approach to technology innovation and meeting SAF-user requirements but also about the sustainment these technologies and capabilities—in creating synergistic applications for defense within the ecosystem (DSTA 2016). Recent examples of Singapore’s AI-Ops-Tech development include (MINDEF 2022b):

  • AI-enabled Command and Control Information System (CCIS), a high-tech command post that uses AI to process and analyze intelligence data in real-time, while providing automatic target detection and classification to provide commanders with a real-time, situation picture of deployed sensors, assets, and the disposition of adversary forces on the battlefield.

  • ARTEMIS (Army Tactical Engagement and Information System) battle management system.

  • Modification and integration of diverse drones for reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition such as Veloce 15 mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles—the first locally developed hybrid Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) Fixed-Wing system, for the Army to use for its Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR).

  • DSTA Maritime Security Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV).

  • DSO Autonomous underwater vehicle Meredith-400 for seabed surveillance.

  • DSO AI tools to detect cyber threats and deepfakes.

3 Organizing Defense AI

Within the MINDEF, the control tower for the research and development (R&D) of advanced technologies, including AI capabilities, is the Defense Tech Group (DTG). Established in 1986, the DTG’s key functions include facilitating cutting-edge research on areas such as AI, robotics, unmanned vehicles, cyber security, and advanced materials; collaborating with academia and industry—partnering with universities, research institutes and private companies, including start-ups to leverage expertise and accelerate technology development; supporting technology acquisition and integration—assisting the SAF in identifying, testing, and deploying new technologies within its operations; and nurturing talent and building expertise—attracting and training skilled personnel in various fields of technology relevant to national defense (DSO 2024).

Specifically, responsibilities for technological innovation are divided in MINDEF’s four main tech-departments with distinct technology planning portfolios and policy planning responsibilities (MINDEF 2023b). These include:

  • Future Systems & Technology Directorate (FSTD)

FSTD is responsible for master-planning and managing the research and technology requirements of MINDEF and SAF. FSTD is led by Future Systems & Technology Architect and its organization structure comprises functional entities to master plan the R&D investments to deliver on game-changing concepts to realize cutting edge capabilities for the SAF. The Systems & Concepts Groups (SCGs) serve as FSTD’s master planning offices, responsible for concept generation, as well as master planning systems and technologies development, including AI, to fulfil the SAF’s key mission needs. The SAF Centre for Military Experimentation (SCME) formulates long term force development strategies and new war-fighting concepts.

  • Technology Strategy & Policy Office (TSPO)

TSPO's role encompasses technology policy development, capability development, long-term planning, collaboration with the private sector, resource optimization, and technology transfer. TSPO collaborates with the broader civilian and private ecosystem, including startups, research institutions, and technology companies, to leverage external expertise and resources. This partnership approach aims to deepen innovation, accelerate technology development cycles, and enhance the agility of defense capabilities.

  • Industry & Resources Policy Office (IRPO)

IPRO oversees the local defense industry, land use, logistics, technology security, defense exports, and procurement. IRPO collaborates with local defense companies to enhance capabilities, support innovation, and facilitate partnerships with international firms for technology transfer and knowledge exchange. IRPO works closely with relevant agencies to optimize land use for defense purposes, including the development of military training areas, storage facilities, and infrastructure for defense operations. IRPO also oversees logistics planning and management to ensure timely and efficient deployment of military assets, personnel, and supplies during peacetime and in crisis situations.

  • Defense Technology Collaboration Office (DTCO)

DTCO is responsible for conceptualizing and implementing policies and plans for defense technology-related engagements with local research institutions and international partners. Specifically, DTCO formulates strategic policies and frameworks for engaging with local research institutions, universities, and industry partners to harness their expertise and capabilities in defense-related R&D activities. In doing so, DTCO also facilitates international collaborations and partnerships with foreign defense agencies, research organizations, and industry players to access cutting-edge technologies, expertise, and best practices for mutual benefit and knowledge exchange. DTCO manages technology transfer initiatives, facilitating the transfer of defense-related technologies between public and private sectors, academia, and defense industries to enhance Singapore's defense capabilities.

MINDEF’s Defense Tech Group is further supported by the broader layer of the DTC that integrates three technology research arms, which pursue the research, development, testing, and evaluation of emerging technologies, including AI-enabled defense systems:

  • Defense Science and Technology Agency (DSTA)

DSTA is a critical organization responsible for driving Singapore's advancements in defense science and technology. It plays a pivotal role in implementing defense technology plans, procuring defense material, developing defense infrastructure, and fostering collaboration within the defense and technology sectors. Additionally, DSTA works to build a strong community of experts and researchers, including AI engineers and scientists, to innovate and enhance Singapore's defense capabilities.

  • Defense Science Organization Labs (DSO Labs)

DSLO Labs is Singapore’s largest defense research and development organization, tasked with both basic and applied defense-technology related research. Its responsibilities encompass a wide range of areas, including exploring fundamental scientific principles, developing innovative solutions, and advancing cutting-edge technologies to enhance Singapore's defense capabilities.

  • Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies (CSIT)

CSIT is a technical agency under MINDEF that focuses on cybersecurity, data analytics, software engineering, and could infrastructure and services. It is tasked to safeguard military systems, networks, and data from cyber threats. This includes developing robust cybersecurity strategies, implementing defensive measures, and conducting cybersecurity assessments and audits. CSIT leverages AI and data analytics techniques to derive valuable insights from large volumes of data for decision-making, threat intelligence analysis, and optimizing defense operations. Furthermore, CSIT engages in software development and engineering projects to create secure and reliable applications and systems for defense purposes. This includes developing custom software solutions tailored to specific defense requirements. CSIT manages cloud infrastructure and services for MINDEF, ensuring secure and efficient utilization of cloud computing resources. This involves deploying cloud-based applications, data storage, and computing resources while maintaining high levels of security and compliance.

The varying interactions within the DTC system shape specific military-technological development and acquisition processes, systems development and integration, and capabilities, which are subsequently integrated into the SAF services. In turn, the SAF then provides feedback loops on their performance validation and verification, system safety, reliability and maintainability, logistic support, and other factors (MINDEF 2023b). The administrative backbone of the DTC and the entire SAF is the Defense Management Group (DMG) within MINDEF, which is responsible for manpower and human resource management, implementation of National Service, financial planning and analysis, procurement, and contracts, and developing information technology infrastructure, and legal and other professional services for MINDEF and the SAF (MINDEF 2018b). Ultimately, the Defense Policy Group (DPG) under MINDEF plays a central role in developing and shaping defense policies, including for AI and emerging technologies, that align with Singapore's national security interests and strategic objectives. In doing so, the DPG manages international defense relations and collaborations, including bilateral and multilateral engagements with foreign defense ministries, organizations, and partners. This includes participation in defense dialogues, joint exercises, and cooperation frameworks to enhance defense cooperation and interoperability. In short, the DPG oversees the implementation of defense policies, working closely with other MINDEF departments, the SAF, defense industry partners, and other stakeholders to ensure policy objectives are achieved effectively and efficiently.

4 Fielding and Operating Defense AI

In September 2023, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) conducted its biennial, large-scale training exercise ‘Forging Sabre’ at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, U.S. The exercise series, dating back to 2005, serves as platform for testing and refining SAF’s cutting-edge capabilities, operational readiness, and proof-of-concepts. Its latest iteration provided perhaps the most visible insights into how the SAF integrates AI technologies, concepts, and organizations into its operational conduct. In particular, the SAF tested its latest version of the AI-enabled Command Post (CP) with CCIS discussed above. The system uses weapons-to-target matching algorithms, makes sense of information gathered by the various sensors, and generates defensive options and offensive choices. Commanders then decide from the proposed options and deploy select strike assets, including unmanned systems, in what the SAF terms ‘sense-and-strike’ operations (MINDEF 2023d).

4.1 SAF 2040 Transformation

The 2023 SAF ‘Forging Sabre’ is a relevant example of the direction and character of Singapore’s ongoing AI-driven defense transformation, conceptualized as the ‘Next-Gen SAF’ or SAF 2040 capability roadmap (MINDEF 2021f). This roadmap aims to the combined effect of advanced (1) digitalization - integrating AI-enabled digital technologies to collect, store, process, and analyze data for decision-making, (2) growing maturity of robotization - development and deployment of AI-enabled autonomous systems for various tasks, and (3) sensor revolution - development and integration of advanced sensors across platforms and domains (Table 7).

Table 7 AI-Enabled digitization, robotization, and sensor-revolution in the SAF
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Historically, the SAF modernization trajectory focused on gradual conventional military capability development: the first-generation or 1G SAF (1960s–70s) aimed at basic capability-development of individual services and the implementation of a purely island-defensive “poisoned-shrimp” strategy, which envisioned high-intensity urban combat to impose unacceptable human and material costs to potential aggressors. In the 1980s and ‘90 s, the second-generation or 2G SAF, shifted toward combined-arms maneuver warfare, and the “porcupine” defense strategy that envisioned a limited-power projection in Singapore’s near seas and potentially a pre-emptive posture to be able to transfer a conflict into enemy’s territory, for example, if Singapore’s water supplies would be cut off (Loo 2004; Huxley 2000). At the turn of the twenty-first century, the SAF progressed toward the third-generation or 3G SAF, a transition towards ‘network-centric’ warfare for the land, air, and sea domains as well as an emphasis on defense diplomacy, operations other than war, counterterrorism, and disaster relief in geographically more distant areas from Singapore (Raska 2016).

Implementing the AI-driven SAF 2040, however, arguably signifies much more ambitious military change that transcends traditional conventional military modernization. In particular, the AI diffusion in the SAF 2040 can be defined along four mutually reinforcing areas:

  • Comprehensive adoption and adaption of AI systems into all domains of military operations.

  • Organizational changes from restructuring existing units to creation of new command structures such as the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) to enable greater organizational agility and adaptability.

  • Talent development by investing in AI training programs and talent acquisition strategies to diversify SAF personnel and provide them with the necessary skills for future operations.

  • Pursuing responsible AI-governance in defense diplomacy.

While details are scattered in a mosaic of brief press releases and public statements in speeches of MINDEF’s senior military leadership, the SAF 2040 envisions that Singapore’s military will operate in a strategically uncertain and operationally complex environment that combines high-technology with new forms of ‘hybrid’ warfare -increasingly blurring the lines between peacetime and wartime, civil and military arenas, and new domains such as space, near space, cyberspace, and underwater (Raska 2019). The resulting “high-low” intensity threat spectrum combines diverse and often opposing challenges simultaneously: On one hand, regional extremists or terrorist organizations could evolve by using novel technologies and sheer brute force—for example, by simultaneously using swarms of drones, social media information warfare, cyberattacks, indiscriminate shooting, and use of explosives to attack Singapore’s centers of gravity. On the other, with the ongoing China-US strategic rivalries in the Indo-Pacific and potential conflict scenarios in the South China Sea, the Malacca Strait, Taiwan and East China Sea, Singapore’s security is increasingly affected by the diffusion of advanced military-technological capabilities and strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.

In the military context, therefore, the SAF aims to preserve its deterrence and defensive options and inherently also offensive choices (Bitzinger 2021). In 2023, for example, the acquisition list for the SAF included upgraded early warning systems such as coastal surveillance network and air defense systems; F-35 s and upgraded F-15SG fighter jets, Multi-Role Tanker Transport and G-550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) including Orbiter 4 close-range UAVs; new classes of ships that include Joint Multi-Mission Ships and Multi-Role Combat Vessels (MRCVs); Type 218SG submarines based on upgraded German Type 214 design, and new types of Underwater Unmanned Vehicles (UUVs); and ultimately, military systems and platforms for more protected and mobile Army, such as the indigenous Hunter armored fighting vehicles, Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles, upgraded Leopard tanks, High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARs) and howitzers, and their supporting systems (Koh 2021). Together, these platforms have the potential to increase the SAF’s freedom of action, make the SAF more survivable due to the increased use of stealth and active defenses, and improve its capabilities for battlefield knowledge, situational awareness, and command and control—including the integration of AI-enabled battle-management systems such as Artemis (Ng 2021; Teo 2021). In the context of AI-enabled intelligence and maritime domain awareness capabilities, for example, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) uses AI- enabled command, control, and communication (C3) system with AI video analytics to detect, track, and classify vessels visually – the C3 system is able to identify and classify up to 20 vessels per second, which reduces the cognitive burden and workload of human operators.

At the same time, the SAF, together with Singapore’s security and intelligence agencies, must grapple with a new era of permanent low-level conflicts in and around the Indo-Pacific that utilize grey-zone strategies—using ambiguity or deniability in everything from disinformation and espionage, hostile influence campaigns, crime and subversion, and cyber means to gain political advantage by projecting instability within countries and a legitimacy crisis on the global stage. While grey zone conflicts do not include the use of violent force, hybrid warfare does. Evolving hybrid warfare strategies often combine timeless ‘unconventional methods’ with novel technologies to create political, economic, and psychological effects. Like grey zones, hybrid warfare strategies are initially masked in non-military arenas, utilizing diplomatic deception, cyber and social media disinformation to influence public opinion. The aim is to maximize non-military forms of influence, political coercion, while seeding chaos and deception to undermine societal resiliency and military resolve. In theory, this creates a psychological advantage for sweeping military actions and undermines the resilience of multicultural societies such as Singapore. Therefore, the SAF must adapt its concepts, organizational structures, and technological capabilities to counter ‘hybrid’ threats in the information and cyber domains; expanding counter-terrorism capabilities, particularly by strengthening Island Defense and Special Forces; and leveraging advanced emerging technologies such as AI, data analytics, and robotics in nearly all aspects of defense planning and military operations (Raska 2021). In this context, for example, the DSTA has developed the Cyber Security Operations Centre (Cyber SOC) 2.0 that aims to enhance MINDEF and the SAF’s ability to monitor, detect, analyse and respond to cyber threats. The Cyber SOC integrates AI and machine learning techniques to learn and adapt constantly, prioritise alerts on cyber incidents, and enhance detection capabilities. In 2020, the team behind the Cyber SOC received the Defence Technology Prize – MINDEF’s most prestigious award for outstanding contributions in defence science and technology.

4.2 Digital and Intelligence Service

As part of the SAF 2040 major organizational change, the SAF established the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) in October 2022, as the fourth branch of the SAF, on par with the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The idea behind the DIS is to consolidate previously compartmentalized Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I), cyber, military intelligence, and supporting units and capabilities. At its onset, the DIS as a Service headquarter (HQ) currently includes four Commands, each responsible for a specific domain: Intelligence, C4 and Cyber, Digital Defense, and Training. It also established the Joint Digital and C4 Department (JDCD) to scale up digitization within the SAF in collaboration with Singapore’s DTC and the Digital Ops-Tech Centre (DOTC) that aims to serve as the SAF’s center of excellence to integrate AI, data science, and emerging technologies into SAF’s operational conduct (MINDEF 2022c).

Through the DIS, the SAF’s evolving military-technological advances are combined with relevant organizational force structures and increasingly push for more transformative capabilities and conduct of operations, including AI. This means that current and future DIS units will increasingly utilize AI-enabled systems to provide situational awareness, intelligence of the operational environment, and cyber support for SAF’s joint operations while defending Singapore’s military networks, electronic communications, and information environment (MINDEF 2023e). At the high end of warfare, DIS will also enable the so-called ‘sense and strike’ missions—a follow-up to the evolving ‘sensor-to-shooter’ concepts that have envisioned integrating diverse automated sensor networks, data sharing, and providing mission taskings to any weapons platforms or units. For example, an unmanned aerial vehicle or ground robot would be able to spot an enemy tank or ship, share the intelligence and data in real-time with relevant non-line-of-sight strike systems in the rear, which in turn would be able to use this automated target detection with the human-in-the-loop to launch precision strikes on the target (MINDEF 2021h, 2023d).

5 Training for Defense AI

Education and training are important for technology savvy SAF. This also mirrors the country’s broader societal expectations as Singapore wants its armed forces to play on par with civilian and commercial technology developments. Consequently, the SAF considers AI an important tool to advance realistic digital environments for simulation-based training and to personalize training programs. In this context, recent AI-Ops-Tech developments also include an immersive training system utilizing Virtual Reality (VR) for soldiers to practice combat scenarios in realistic environments (MINDEF 2022b). The latest ‘Forging Sabre’ exercise, as illustrated above, also underlined that the SAF consider an increasingly complex battlefield environment in which information density is rising and human operators will more intensively interact with unmanned systems. While the SAF see a role for AI in dealing with the respective burden, that comes with these types of operations, human operators need to trust AI to accomplish its mission (Hamzah 2023). That’s why the training curriculum is beginning to cover these aspects, to gradually nourish soldier’s confidence in AI. In this regard, Singapore is also stepping up efforts to integrate AI-enhanced technology and AI-augmented concepts of operations into bilateral training efforts with key strategic partners like the United States, for example.

6 Conclusion

Amid external geostrategic and technological disruptions coupled with internal demographic challenges, Singapore has increasingly turned to emerging technologies such as AI systems, augmented reality, and data-driven decision-making methods, which are redefining traditional defense planning approaches and operational conduct of the SAF. Singapore’s AI systems and machine-learning algorithms are helping to sort through vast amounts of data across various government and military applications, including predictive maintenance taskings, predictive analysis, and in cyber-defenses (Chia 2018; MINDEF 2021e).

At the same time, however, technology can’t solve complex strategic and operational challenges alone. Therefore, Singapore’s defense planning, including AI, is focusing on institutional agility through collaborative security, intelligence, and defense networks, in which traditional organizational boundaries are being erased. Collaborative defense planning relies on diverse networks that can be linked in novel ways—military, cross-agency government collaboration, and increasingly private companies can share data, experiences, and best practices to tackle complex security challenges (MINDEF 2021d). Over the past decade, strengthening a nodal resilience between the government, society, and technology has shaped the organizational agility in Singapore’s defense planning approaches. The key enabler holding the various horizontal and vertical collaboration networks has depended on ramping up and maintaining internal trust and cohesion between Singapore’s government agencies and society, and externally with international partners such as tech companies.

With the SAF 2040 transformation, Singapore’s defense planners have continuously pointed toward the disruptive nature of emerging technologies and digital revolution as both strategic challenge and opportunity—turning to advanced technologies as an intelligence enabler, force multiplier, and defense diplomacy anchor that can strengthen its deterrence, defense, and resilience capabilities, while mitigating the effects of internal demographic changes and vulnerabilities. Therefore, the contours of the SAF 2040 defense planning effectively signify a major military change for the SAF.

Integrating AI into multidomain operations requires a new strategy, units, and doctrinal revision to include new missions and career paths, changing the curriculum of SAF’s professional military education institutions, and revising training and experimentation. Technology is and will remain SAF’s critical enabler in the process, especially as Singapore lacks strategic depth and a limited (and declining) manpower base. It must strive to keep its military as high-tech as possible, including its manpower. At the same time, Singapore must continue to leverage its relatively high level of education and technical training to craft a smaller but more technologically savvy military.

Ultimately, the SAF’s irreducible priorities are still to protect the Singaporean homeland and to safeguard Singapore’s security by working to maintain peace, stability, and reduced tensions throughout Southeast Asia. Deterrence, defense, diplomacy, and resilience are still the key watchwords of the SAF, but how these might be achieved in the twenty-first century is probably changing and may change further with intertwined geostrategic and technological challenges, uncertainties, as well as strategic opportunities—brought by the next wave of AI-driven revolution in military affairs.