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Singapore Defense Industries
Singapore's defense industries were established in the
late
1960s because the government believed that the country
should not
become too dependent on foreign countries to resupply the
armed
forces during wartime. By 1975 three government-owned
corporations
were involved in assembling, rebuilding, overhauling, and
designing
small arms, artillery, armor, military aircraft, and naval
vessels.
In 1979 the government started a defense marketing effort
to
promote the sale of Singapore-designed weapons to foreign
countries. In addition to government-owned defense
industries, a
number of foreign-owned producers of military equipment
operated in
Singapore. These firms were attracted by government
incentives
designed to promote employment in high technology
industries, to
lower production costs, and to explore the possibility of
using
Singapore as a base for promoting the sale of their
products in
Asia.
In 1989 three divisions of the state-owned and
-operated
Singapore Technology Corporation were producing various
types of
ammunition, weapons, and vehicles used by the army. In
addition,
the divisions were responsible for rebuilding or adapting
some
types of foreign military matérial to army specifications.
The
first division, commonly known as Chartered Industries,
was
established in 1967 and produced various types of
ammunition and
small arms. Ammunition manufactured included 5.56-, 7.62-
and 12.7-
caliber shells used in pistols, rifles, and machine guns;
60-, 81-
and 120mm mortars; 75mm armor-piercing rounds for the main
gun of
the AMX-13 tank; and 155mm high-explosive artillery
ammunition. In
1970 Chartered Industries began licensed production of the
M16
assault rifle. More than 80,000 M16s were manufactured for
the army
between 1970 and 1979. In 1976 Chartered Industries
purchased the
rights to the SAR-80 assault rifle from Britain's Sterling
Armament
Company. Engineers at Chartered Industries worked with a
team of
weapons experts at the Armed Forces Training Institute to
improve
the Sterling design. An estimated 100,000 indigenously
designed
SAR-80s were produced between 1980 and 1989 for domestic
use and
for export. The second division of Singapore Technology
Corporation--Ordnance Development and Engineering--was
established
in 1973 to design and produce mortars and 155mm howitzers
for the
army. Three indigenously-designed mortars based on designs
provided
to the division by a Finnish manufacturer were still in
production
in 1989 and fired 60-, 81- and 120mm ammunition. The
indigenously
designed FH-88 155mm howitzer was based on the
Israeli-produced M68 that was exported to Singapore in the 1970s. Soltam
Limited of
Israel no doubt assisted Ordnance Development and
Engineering in
the development and initial assembly of the FM-88.
Automotive
Engineering, the third division of Singapore Technology
Corporation
involved in military production, was established in 1971.
The
division received a number of foreign-produced vehicles,
including
three-ton Mercedes transport trucks and the AMX-13 tank,
and
modified them to army specifications. Additionally, the
division
modified V-150/V-200 and M-113 armored personnel carriers
to serve
as platforms for weapons such as the Bofors RBS-70
surface-to-air
missile system and indigenously produced 120mm mortars.
Singapore Aerospace Corporation, established in 1981,
comprised
four state-owned divisions that were involved in the
assembly of
foreign-produced trainer aircraft for the air force and
the
overhaul and maintenance of various types of military
aircraft,
aircraft engines, and avionics equipment. Between 1984 and
1987,
the Maintenance Division assembled at least twenty-six
Italianproduced SIAI-Marchetti S-211 trainer aircraft for the air
force.
The Maintenance Division also overhauled and refurbished
A-4S
Skyhawk fighter aircraft and performed depot-level
maintenance on
C-130 transport aircraft for both the Singapore and United
States
air forces. Singapore Aerospace Corporation could
manufacture spare
parts for A-4S fighter aircraft, handle routine
maintenance on
6,000 types of civil and military aircraft components, and
overhaul
various types of jet engines.
The state-owned Singapore Shipbuilding and Engineering
Company
produced naval vessels under technology transfer
agreements
negotiated with Lürssen Werft of West Germany. In 1974 and
1975,
the company constructed four TNC-45 missile-equipped
gunboats for
the navy based on Lürssen-designed Zobel-class torpedo
gunboats.
The West German design was modified to allow for the
installation
of Israeli-produced Gabriel missiles and a larger gun. The
agreement with Lürssen included marketing rights, and
Singapore
Shipbuilding and Engineering constructed lightly armed
gunboats for
at least two Asian countries. In 1976 and 1977, the
company built
three TNC-45s for the Thai navy. These vessels had the
same
armament as the TNC-45s produced for the Singapore navy.
In 1986
Singapore Shipbuilding and Engineering negotiated an
agreement with
the Indian government that provided for joint construction
of six
TNC-45s for the Indian Coast Guard. Two of these craft
were to be
built in Singapore and four in India. In 1989 Singapore
Shipbuilding and Engineering constructed the first of five
corvettes for the navy. Again, Lürssen Werft provided the
design
and one prototype vessel, and Singapore Shipbuilding and
Engineering modified the design to navy specifications.
The
modification involved replacing surface-to-surface
missiles with
American-produced Harpoon ship-to-ship missiles. Both the
Singapore
and West German models of this craft were equipped with
one 76mm
gun (see
table 14, Appendix).
Between 1983 and 1987, Singapore exported US$311
million worth
of weapons and military equipment to other countries.
According to
the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute,
Singapore was
the fifteenth largest exporter of military hardware to
Third World
nations during the period. These weapons and equipment
sales
increased from only US$1 million in 1983 to US$125 million
in 1987
and were believed to have been limited to the same types
of
ammunition, small arms, and mortars that were produced for
the
army. The government marketed its military equipment
through its
own brokerage firm, Unicorn International.
Data as of December 1989
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