Newer and more advanced air imagery, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, such as the Heron 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) System, are able to collect vast volumes of information within a short time.
But information, without analysis, is meaningless. To enable
the study of such information for actionable intelligence, the Republic of
Singapore Air Force (RSAF) introduced a new vocation at Chong Pang Camp on 11
Jul.
Known as the Air Imagery Intelligence Expert or AIRIX in
short, this new vocation focuses on analysing real-time images collected by the
air ISR platforms before passing the findings to relevant agencies for action.
At the AIRIX vocation launch ceremony, 31 RSAF personnel
received their AIRIX badges from Chief of Air Force Major-General (MG) Ng Chee
Meng, who officiated at the ceremony.
In his speech, Commander of the UAV Command Colonel Tommy Tan explained why UAV Systems Specialists, who operate UAVs, were identified to be the first batch of AIRIX: "This was to capitalise on their existing competencies and rich experiences both in aviation and imagery intelligence."
He continued: "The vocational change entails a shift
from aviation-oriented skills to analytical skills that are required of the
IMINT (Imagery Intelligence) exploitation professionals."
To the AIRIX, he said: "I hope you will continue to put
in great effort to anchor your competencies and more importantly, forge a
strong AIRIX identity that each and every one of you can be proud of."
Military Expert (ME) 3 Francis Lim, an Operations Warrant
Officer from 116 Squadron, which operates the Hermes 450 UAV, was among the 31
to receive the AIRIX badge.
He elaborated on his change in job scope: "In the past,
our job involved flying the UAVs. Now, we won't fly the UAV, but we'll work
hand-in-hand with the UAV pilots to convert raw images into useful information,
to provide timely and relevant intelligence for our front-end warriors."
Considering it a privilege to be among the pioneers of this
new vocation, he said: "I'm looking forward to the job, knowing that I am
part of the pioneering batch of AIRIX that will help to realise the full
potential of the Air Force."
(Mindef)
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar