Singapore Armed Forces

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Singapore flag Singapore Armed Forces
Singapore Armed Forces
guide
Commander in Chief : President ,
currently Halimah Yacob
Defense Minister: Ng Eng Hen
Military Commander: Major-General Perry Lim
Military strength
Active soldiers: 71,600
Reservists: > 1,386,000
Conscription: 24 Months
Eligibility for military service: (16 -) 18 years
household
Military budget: 25.11 billion US dollars (2017)
Share of gross domestic product : 3.3% (2017)
history
Founding: 1966

The armed forces of Singapore ( Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) , Malay : Angkatan Bersenjata Singapura , Chinese : 新加坡 武装部队, Tamil : சிங்கப்பூர் ஆயுதப்படை) comprise the armed forces army , navy and air force .

Conscription

The conscription is in Singapore 24 months, it starts from the age of 18 and ends with the age of 40 (for officers with 50 years of age). Volunteers can sign up from the age of 16. Conscription is subject to citizens of Singapore and persons with unrestricted residency.

Military spending

The military budget in 2017 was 11.25 billion US dollars , which corresponds to 3.3 percent of the city-state's gross national product .

history

As early as 1854, the British colonial administration established the Singapore Volunteer Corps to maintain public safety . This was mainly composed of Europeans. In 1922, the association was renamed the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force and took part in the Battle of Singapore on the side of the British Army in 1942 . In 1945 Singapore came back under British rule. In 1959 Singapore became a self-governed crown colony . In 1962 Singapore was released into a federation with Malaya , Sabah and Sarawak and thus became independent from the United Kingdom on September 1, 1963 . After massive unrest between Chinese and non-Chinese residents, Singapore was expelled from the federation on August 7, 1965. The SAF were officially founded in 1966.

Armed forces

army

Singaporean self-propelled howitzer Primus

The army comprises 50,000 active soldiers and an additional 170,000 reserve . The tanks used include Leopard 2A4 , Centurions and M113 transport tanks (these are to be replaced by the Bionix ). Since Singapore does not pose a direct threat from neighboring states or invasions , less has been invested in equipping the army in favor of those of the navy and the air force.

marine

Singaporean Intrepid of the Formidable class

The main task of the 5,000-strong navy is to secure shipping routes and combat piracy .

To this end, it maintains frigates ( Formidable class ), corvettes ( Victory class ), patrol boats , submarines and landing ships ( Endurance class ). In 2011, the arrival of two used Archer- class submarines began . In December 2013, the Navy ordered two new class HDW 218 SG submarines from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems .

air force

Singaporean F-16C firing an AIM-9 Sidewinder

In 1968 Great Britain announced the withdrawal of all foreign troops east of the Suez Canal . As a result, Singapore was forced to set up its own air force within a very short time , as the previous protection by the Royal Air Force was no longer available. First, Hawker Hunter were acquired and the now 6000-strong Air Force was built up in record time. Today aircraft of the types F-16C / D Fighting Falcon , F-5E / F Tiger II , CH-47 Chinook , AS332 Super Puma , AH-64D Apache , S-70 , C-130 Hercules , Fokker 50 MPA, Pilatus PC-21 deployed. The Air Force also operates an official aerobatic team , the Black Knights .

bases

The RSAF operates four military airfields on its own territory , all of them former Royal Air Force stations :

Training squadrons of combat aircraft lie in Western Australia RAAF Base Pearce with Aermacchi S 211 - combat trainers , as well as the US courts Luke Air Force Base and Mountain Home Air Force Base for the conversion to the use pattern F-16 and F-15SG . In Australia and the USA , the RSAF operates further training facilities for transport and tanker planes and helicopters. In addition to these two countries, the RSAF maintains another advanced training unit at the French military airfield of Cazaux near Arcachon .

Web links

Commons : Singapore Armed Forces  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [1] (English)
  2. ↑ Country information from the Austrian Ministry of Defense
  3. ↑ Press release from ThyssenKrupp: ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems receives a major submarine order from Singapore , accessed on December 9, 2013.