Singapore gets a New Chief of Army - Brigadier-General (BG) Perry Lim Cheng Yeow

Outgoing Chief of Army, Major-General Ravinder Singh (left), handing over the command symbol to the incoming Chief of Army, Brigadier-General (BG) Perry Lim.

The Army welcomed its new Chief of Army Brigadier-General (BG) Perry Lim Cheng Yeow this afternoon.  At the Change of Command Parade held at Pasir Laba Camp, BG Lim took over the Army's symbol of Command from the outgoing Chief of Army Major-General Ravinder Singh s/o Harchand Singh.

As part of the parade, MG Singh reviewed the Guard-of-Honour made up of contingents from the Commando Formation and the 2nd People's Defence Force. The parade also included 10 marching contingents from the other Army formations and a mobile column.

BG Lim, 41, joined the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1990, and was awarded the SAF (Overseas) and President's Scholarship in 1991. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Starred First) (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. BG Lim was also awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Postgraduate Scholarship in 2008 to pursue a Master of Business Administration in INSEAD, Singapore. In the course of his military career, he has held, amongst others, the appointments of Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, Singapore Guards; Commander, 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade; Head, Joint Plans and Transformation Department; and Commander, 3rd Division. BG Lim was also Chairman of the Executive Committee for the National Day Parade 2013.

The change of command is part of the SAF's continuing process of leadership renewal. The parade was witnessed by Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng, and attended by senior SAF officers and servicemen from the Army. 

Singapore and Indian Armies Conduct Tenth Bilateral Armour Exercise

Source:Singapore MinDef

http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/press_room/official_releases/nr/2014/mar/28mar14_nr.html#.UzjlD_mSySo

The Singapore Army and the Indian Army are conducting Exercise Bold Kurukshetra, a bilateral armour exercise from 1 to 31 March 2014. This year's exercise is the tenth in its series involving 690 soldiers from the Singapore Army and Indian Army. As part of the exercise, the two armies executed integrated manoeuvres and engaged in joint planning and training.

A highlight of this year's exercise was the integrated live-firing by armoured fighting vehicles from both armies. Commenting on the success of the exercise, Commanding Officer of the 42nd Battalion of the Singapore Armoured Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Ng Wei How said, "the rich exchanges and joint training with the Indian Army in Exercise Bold Kurukshetra 2014 have enhanced bilateral coordination and interoperability between the two armies."

Exercise Bold Kurukshetra is conducted under the ambit of the Bilateral Agreement for Joint Army Training and Exercises between the Singapore and Indian armies. This exercise underscores the warm defence relationship between both countries. Both defence establishments also interact regularly through high-level visits, policy dialogues, courses, seminars and other professional exchanges.

Steady defence spending will continue - 2014 Singapore Defence Budget

Combined defence spending in Asia exceeded that of the West for the first time, including higher spending by regional countries — Indonesia and Malaysia’s defence budget grew 125 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.

Singapore's defence expenditure came under debate on Wednesday as  Parliament MPs discussed the biggest item under Budget 2014.The majority of MPs who spoke on the topic supported the nation's commitment to maintain its level of defence spending.Singapore will continue its approach of keeping defence spending steady, avoiding sharp spikes or drops which would undermine defence capabilities over the medium term.

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Training artillery exercise for Singapore armed forces with Primus 155mm self-propelled howitzer - Exercise Thunder Warrior concludes today with New Zealand

The Singapore 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzer, Primus, participating in a live-firing exercise during Exercise Thunder Warrior

Second Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing visited Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops training in an artillery exercise, codenamed Thunder Warrior, at the Waiouru Training Area in New Zealand today. During his visit, Mr Chan witnessed a battalion live-firing exercise involving the Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer (SSPH), Primus, and interacted with SAF troops participating in the exercise.

The exercise, conducted from 13 to 25 January 2014, involves about 400 personnel from the 21st and 24th Battalions, Singapore Artillery (SA). In addition, Gunners from the Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery, New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) had joined the Singapore Artillery in a bilateral segment of the exercise to operate and fire the SSPH.

Exercise Thunder Warrior has been conducted annually in New Zealand since 1997, and underscores the close and long-standing defence relations between Singapore and New Zealand. The SAF and the NZDF interact extensively through a wide range of bilateral and multilateral training exercises, professional exchanges, visits and courses.

Both armed forces also interact regularly under the ambit of the Five Power Defence Arrangements and the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus. These interactions have helped enhance the interoperability and mutual understanding among the personnel of the two armed forces.

ST Kinetics 155mm 39 calibre Lightweight SP Howitzer Pegasus

Specifications
Weight	5.4 t (5.3 long tons; 6.0 short tons)
Barrel length	6.045 m (19 ft 10 in) L/39
Crew	6-8
Caliber	155 mm NATO
Rate of Fire	4 rpm for 3 minutes 2 rpm for 30 minutes
Effective range	19 km (12 mi) (with M107)
Maximum range	30 km (19 mi) (with ERFB BB round)
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Is air- transportable by a Hercules C130 and Chinook - CH47 because it is made in part by titanium and aluminium.