hammerhead2

Singapore has a military philosophy of "Forward Defence." That is: no battle will be fought on Singapore soil. Enemies will be held at arm's length on occupied ground.

With this in mind, it is no folly to maintain a strong offensive-based army, trained in large-scale mobile warefare with combined arms capabilities. To make "Forward Defence" work, the SAF must occupy foreign soil and hold it. It may have to end up fighting two enemies, against the owner of the occupied ground and the perceived enemy (if they are not one and the same)
And to fight a ground holding war, the heavy firepower and mobility of armour are essential.

The Singapore Leopards are to counter the "potential threat" to the "Forward Defence" strategy from Malaysia's PT-91s. Previously when the Malaysians have the Scorpion light tanks, the AMX-13s, though more than 40-years old, were deemed adequate counterweights. And in a rare show of military upmanship, the SAF acquired the (also) antiquated Centurion (known as the Tempest within the SAF) Despite its age, the re-engined and up-gunned Centurion is more than a match for any other armour within peninsular Southeast Asia. This advantage was lost with the advent of Malaysia's PT-91.

Again, the SAF is shown not adversed to adopting another "old" tank as long as it fits the bill at minimal cost. Despite its age, many would agree that the Leopard 2s are a match for the PT-91. And let's not forget that Singapore can also throw in a couple of squadrons of tank-busting Apache helicopters.

History has shown that Singapore has often been made the political whipping boy for two of its larger neighbours. The political leaders responsible for these tirades may be gone for now, but the potential threat still remains a reality for the city-state. Some may say that this is Singaporean paranoia, but it is always better to walk quietly and carry a big stick.

awangmamat

No prizes for guessing right where this "Forward Defence" will take place. In fact, Malaysia has exactly the same strategy. Whether this is done with boots on the ground or by artillery would depend on the situation.

This, I would strongly disagree with.

This is not paranoia but perfectly reasonable. Malaysia feels the same way.

Pioneer

Hi Ray

I am new to this site

I have worked with the Sing army before.
They are very good troops!
Much better and professional than say the Malaysians and Thai’s are

They take their defence very serious, for such a small and young country.
This is emphasized by their excellent home grown indigenous arms industry, which complements their realistic knowledge of their own countries vulnerability.
There are few countries in the world, let alone Singapore’s size that designs and builds its own indigenous and purpose-built IFV, artillery (both towed and SP), machine guns, grenade launchers etc…………
Their wiliness to spend vast amounts of money on overseas training facilities, and the transportation and rotation of units, is testimony of how serious that Singapore takes its defense!

Regards
Pioneer