S’pore-developed radio frequency transmitters, unmanned aerial vehicle win defence technology prizes
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Vincent Leong from DSO National Laboratories holding a prototype of the radio-frequency (RF) transmitter on Nov 6.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
- Singapore’s Defence Technology Prize recognised home-grown RF transmitters that can blind hostile drone sensors and help create target images. The technology boosts self-reliance and cuts supply chain risk.
- Vincent Leong said the project took over 16 years at DSO National Laboratories. He stressed the need to build local expertise because RF engineering is not a popular field.
- Other winners developed the navy’s first indigenous drone, the Veloce 60, and automation for A330 midair refuelling. Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said future warfare will depend on long-term capability-building.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – The use of radio frequencies (RF) from locally built transmitters allows the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to blind hostile drone sensors before they reach our shores.
These frequencies can also be used for creating images of distant targets.
The custom-made RF transmitters developed over more than 16 years by DSO National Laboratories won Vincent Leong the Defence Technology Prize Individual (Research & Development) award on Nov 6.
“A major issue in developing this new technology is the manpower aspect. Radio frequency is not the ‘in’ thing in terms of engineering disciplines – that would be AI robotics, right?” he said.
He added: “I hope this award can bring inspiration to other defence scientists and engineers.”
The home-grown RF transmitters – which can be more compact than a smartphone and up to 50% smaller than similar systems being sold on the market – boost Singapore’s resilience and self-reliance amid global disruptions to supply chains. They also protect the island in a warfare environment increasingly dominated by drones.
A crucial part of a transmitter is the high-power amplifier. There are not many suppliers in the world for the amplifier, said Leong, who is a distinguished member of technical staff at DSO specialising in radio-frequency circuit design.
“If we depend on just a few suppliers for this important capability, then we will be at risk in terms of the system delivery and implementation. To avoid all this supply chain uncertainty and potential disruption, we have our own capabilities in building the transmitters,” he said.
Apart from Leong, three teams also received prizes from Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing at an award ceremony held at DSO National Laboratories.
The RF transmitters developed by DSO National Laboratories can be more compact than a smartphone and up to 50% smaller than similar systems being sold on the market.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Established by the Ministry of Defence in 1989, the annual award recognises individuals and teams that have made significant technological contributions to Singapore’s defence capabilities.
Leong said his key achievement is building up a team of scientists and engineers capable of customising the transmitters to the SAF’s different operational needs. For instance, they may add more power amplifiers to the transmitters for missions requiring a larger radio-frequency range. DSO started work on them in 2009 with a team of between three and five people. Now, there are 15 to 20 people working on the transmitters.
The Defence Minister said the face of warfare is changing with advances in computing power, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, drones and robotics.
Emerging technologies present opportunities that are particularly significant for Singapore because they offer new ways to overcome constraints – such as limited size, manpower and resources – that have shaped the nation’s strategic calculations for decades.
“In national defence, long-term advantage depends on patient capability-building. Deep expertise cannot be bought off the shelf... The achievements we celebrate tonight did not emerge overnight,” he said.
(From left) Leader of the A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport automatic midair refuelling team Chut Zhen Biao, Defence Technology Prize Individual (Research & Development) award recipient Vincent Leong, and leaders of the Veloce 60 team Toh Sze Wei and Xie Yao Yu.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Of the three winning teams, one from DSO, Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), the Republic of Singapore Navy and ST Engineering developed the navy’s first indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which can be used for day and night surveillance operations. The Veloce 60 (V60) UAV has customised capabilities, such as being able to launch and recover autonomously and taking flight vertically. It also has a flight time of up to 14 hours, which is longer than other vertical take-off UAVs’ ranges of three to nine hours.
“The team developed a hybrid aircraft that combines vertical take-off and landing with the efficiency of a fixed-wing flight to suit maritime operations without launch and recovery infrastructure,” team leader Toh Sze Wei said.
UAVs that can launch vertically may typically have low flight times because of their high power consumption, he added. This constraint was overcome by building the V60 with fixed wings and a customised engine.
Difficult landings with a slim margin of error are par for the course when deploying UAVs on a moving ship. To address this operational challenge, the team added a suite of software and sensors to the UAV, which is capable of accurately locating the ship.
The third award went to a team from DSTA and the Republic of Singapore Air Force, which partnered Airbus Defence and Space, to develop technology which automates the A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport’s midair refuelling capabilities.
The fourth award was given to another team working on highly classified advanced weapon systems, for which details could not be provided.