The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the armed forces have four service branches: the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Digital and Intelligence Service. An integrated force, it is the most capable, robust, technologically sophisticated and powerful military in the Southeast Asia region. The SAF is headed by the chief of defence force, appointed by the president, on the advice of the Cabinet.
Since its inception, the SAF has been involved in various operations, both domestically and abroad. These include peacekeeping missions in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Timor Leste as well as disaster relief operations in various countries, including the 1970 Bhola cyclone, 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, 2008 Sichuan earthquake, April 2015 Nepal earthquake, Hurricane Harvey, among others. In addition, the SAF has assisted the United Nations to oversee and supervise the electoral process in countries such as Cambodia, Ethiopia, Namibia and South Africa.
The SAF maintains an active strength of over 51,000 full-time personnel and can mobilise more than 252,500 reservists (also known as Operationally Ready National Servicemen, or NSmen) during a national crisis or full-scale war, bringing its total mobilised strength to over 300,000 troops. This force is sustained by a steady pipeline of conscripts (Full-time National Servicemen, or NSFs), with roughly 50,000 citizens reaching military age annually. In recent years, the SAF has also taken on a more active role in counter-terrorism efforts.
History
Pre-independence Prior to Singapore attaining its independence as a nation state, the British colonial force defended Singapore.
The Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps (SVRC) was first created in 1854 as a private organisation, with the governor serving as its first Colonel. It was later gazetted in 1857. However, participation in the SVRC was weak and it was disbanded on 16 December 1887 in favour of forming an artillery corps instead. This was to be the Singapore Volunteer Artillery (SVA), which was formed in 1888 to operate the gun emplacements around Singapore, and is also considered to be the predecessor of the artillery formation of the Singapore Armed Forces. In 1901, additional non-artillery units were set up, including a Chinese infantry company, Eurasian infantry company, and the Singapore Volunteer Engineers, leading to the force being renamed as the Singapore Volunteer Corps (SVC). It assisted in suppressing the 1915 Singapore Mutiny. In 1921, the SVC was combined with other volunteer forces from Malacca and Penang as the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (SSVF).
During World War II the voluntary military forces of Singapore sustained heavy casualties. The voluntary military force of Singapore was reestablished in 1949.
Post-independence An Israeli military advisory team arrived in Singapore in 1965, and remained in the country for the next nine years. Under the guidance of the Israeli military advisory team, the SAF established its organisation, doctrine, training, as well as its equipment, and arsenal. The SAF in Singapore benefited from conscription and massive public spending. In the mid-1970s, the SAF in Singapore had a force of 300,000 soldiers, including regular soldiers, conscript soldiers, as well as reserve force soldiers. The political purpose of the SAF in Singapore was to pose a reasonable deterrence to the two historically hostile neighbours of Singapore. Singapore became known as the "most heavily armed country on earth" when it purchased light tanks, M113 armoured personnel carriers, A-4 Skyhawks, and F-5 fighter aircraft in the mid-1970s.
In the 1980s, the SAF in Singapore armed itself to attain the capability to defend Singapore's maritime lifeline. In the mid-1980s Singapore purchased eight F-16 fighter-bombers, demonstrating the intent to maintain the SAF as unrivalled in Southeast Asia. In the early 1990s the SAF in Singapore attained the military force necessary to defend Singapore up to 1,000 miles at sea, and therefore respond if necessary to any conflict in the region.
21st century Singapore has been described as "a military powerhouse with the best air force and navy in Southeast Asia." Singapore's wealth allows it to acquire and make the best equipment available as well as incorporate high-end technological equipment into its nation's military forces. The SAF is also called "the most technologically advanced armed forces across the Association of Southeast Asian Nation states".
A recent example is Singapore's decision in the early 2020s to acquire twenty Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft, comprising twelve F-35Bs and eight F-35As. Singapore distinguishes itself from the rest of Southeast Asia through its advanced technology and equipment, described as operating "at a very high level of capability" and being "integrated into a single cohesive fighting force." It will also be the only air force in Southeast Asia to possess F-35s.
On 1 July 2018, the Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen announced that the SAF would transition from its current third-generation technologies to next-generation technologies by overhauling its arsenal. On 27 February 2019, the office of Inspector-General of the Armed Forces was set up to ensure that safety protocols are applied and enforced throughout the military following the death of Aloysius Pang, who was the fourth training related fatality in 18 months after 2017. Armed Forces Day is commemorated by the SAF annually on 1 July, with a parade held at the SAFTI Military Institute. The SAF celebrated its 60th anniversary on 1 July 2025.
Recent years
Contribution in national crises
On 15 March 1986, the six-storey Hotel New World collapsed. SAF soldiers aided in rescue operations, working alongside members of the Singapore Civil Defence Force to remove the rubble. RSAF UH-1H helicopters were on standby at the nearby Farrer Park football field to evacuate rescued victims to the Singapore General Hospital.
On 26 March 1991, Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was hijacked by four Pakistanis en route to Singapore. Upon landing in Changi Airport at 8:15 pm SGT, the hijackers demanded the release of several Pakistan People's Party members. Negotiations faltered, and after the hijackers gave their ultimatum to have their demands fulfilled at 6.15 am SGT of the following morning, commandos from SAF's Special Operations Force (SOF) stormed the plane, killing all hijackers and rescuing the hostages.
During the SARS outbreak in 2003, SAF paramedics were deployed at Changi Airport to screen incoming passengers from places hit by SARS. The SAF also deployed 220 servicemen with operations such as screening, contact tracing and enforcing home quarantine orders. The team also managed other major operations, such as the quarantine of 1,500 staff from the Institute of Mental Health.
In 2004, the Singapore Armed Forces also responded to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. During the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020, SAF servicemen were called upon to pack and transport masks, conduct tracing calls, and check compliance with stay-home notices. MINDEF personnel also ran the National Call Centre to address public queries on the collection of reusable masks. The SAF also deployed manpower to assist in manning thermal imagery machines at the airport to screen travellers with symptoms. The SAF was also involved in managing COVID-19 cases in foreign worker dormitories and at isolation facilities
Defence policy
Deterrence and diplomacy have been the fundamental tenets of Singapore's military defence policy. Through the years, the SAF in Singapore has developed extensive links with armed forces from other countries. In recent years, there has also been an increased emphasis on peacekeeping and international emergency relief operations. Notable are the SAF's contribution to the peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, East Timor, the Persian Gulf, as well as the disaster response in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake, the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
Singapore's spending on military hardware has enabled the SAF to advance from a defensive and defeatist "poisoned shrimp" strategy to a forward defence military strategy in tandem with sustained economic growth. Since the 1980s, the government of Singapore has maintained the SAF as a modern and technically proficient armed force that is capable of conventional warfare on land. The SAF's declared mission statement is to "enhance Singapore’s peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy, and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor".
The SAF's policy towards citizens of Malay ancestry, who often share religious and ethnic ties with Singapore's largest neighbours, Malaysia and Indonesia, had been a source of controversy for decades. Malays were de facto excluded from conscription from the beginning of the draft in 1967 until 1977. Even after the policy was eased, they were assigned mainly to the Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defence Force rather than active combat roles.A Question of Loyalty: Ethnic Minorities, Military Service and Resistance by Alon Peled, 3 March 1993. Seminar Synopses of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard.
In 1987, Lee Hsien Loong (then Second Minister for Defence) stated that "If there is a conflict, if the SAF is called to defend the homeland, we do not want to put any of our soldiers in a difficult position where his emotions for the nation may be in conflict with his religion."Straits Times, 2 April 1987. Military analyst Sean Walsh claimed that "official discrimination against the Malay population remains an open secret". The Ministry of Defence contests the charge, noting that there are "Malay pilots, commandos and air defence personnel" and stating that "the proportion of eligible Malays selected for specialist and officer training is similar to the proportion for eligible non-Malays." Since the turn of the 21st century, Malays have become increasingly involved in various military branches, including the Air Force and the Navy.
National Service
Women are exempt from full-time National Service in Singapore, but can sign on as a career soldier in both combat and non-combat roles.Singapore: Recruitment and Training of Personnel The range of positions available to women has been expanded gradually. In July 2007, the SAF held an exhibition highlighting the contributions of women in the armed forces.Women in the Armed Forces Exhibition – The Spirit of Patriotism In recent years, some women have taken higher positions, such as BG Gan Siow Huang, who is the highest ranking female officer and the first female General in the SAF.
In 2014, a governmental Committee to Strengthening NS established a SAF Volunteer Corps (SAFVC). The SAFVC enables women, first generation Permanent Residents and new citizens to contribute to national defence and strengthen support for NS. Volunteers undergo a four-week course to gain basic military skills and values.
Under the Enlistment Act 1970, conscription is mandatory for all "persons subject to [the] act", defined as those who are not less than 16 years and 6 months of age and not more than 40 years of age, with some exemptions and with no specific bias to gender. In practice however, it is only compulsory for all Singaporean men who have reached 18 years of age, and are not deferred or exempted for certain reasons, to be conscripted in military service.