Five Things About Exercise Forging Sabre 2019

11 Oktober 2019

The exercise again seeks to showcase how the RSAF fights as as integrated force (image : Sing Mindef)

5 Things About XFS 19!

It's the seventh edition of Exercise Forging Sabre (XFS)! XFS 19 is an integrated strike exercise involving a suite of sense and strike assets from the RSAF and the Army. Over two weeks, from 30 Sep to 10 Oct, some 600 SAF personnel, together with our F-15SG and F-16C/D multi-role fighters, AH-64D Apache attack helicopters, Heron 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, and the Commandos will take part in this exercise held in the USA.

There's a lot going on and here are five things that you should know about XFS 19!

Exercise Forging Sabre 2019 is an SAF integrated strike exercise involving a suite of sense and strike assets from the RSAF and the Army (photo : RSAF)

1. First XFS in Mountain Home, Idaho

Previously hosted at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, XFS 19 found a new home in Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The SAF will be able to train in a vast battlefield over the Mountain Home Range Complex that provides an airspace of more than 20 times the size of Singapore! It also offers urban structures and the ability to have moving targets on the ground for more realistic exercise scenarios.

"Exercise Forging Sabre allows us to exercise the end-to-end integrated sense and strike operations. This means that with an exercise scenario, our planners can use the available intelligence as well as strike assets to plan the missions in accordance to different scenarios. The intelligence assets in the air will provide the surveillance to the Command Post (CP), and the CP will then be able to have a comprehensive situational awareness of the battlefield. With that, we will be able to make better, smarter and more timely decisions, using our strike assets to deliver weapons on the targets at the time and place of our choosing with deadly effects,"" explains BG Ho Kum Luen, Exercise Director for XFS 19.

Our F-16D carrying the GBU-12 Laser-Guided Bombs locked and loaded for the night's missions (photo : RSAF)

2. Pervasive - Constant Presence over the Battlefield

High up in the sky, our Heron 1 UAVs operate round the clock, providing persistent and pervasive surveillance of the battlefield by locating and identifying targets. On the ground, the Commandos are able to close in on the enemy and call for air support when needed.

This constant flow of intelligence is transmitted back to the SAF Integrated CP to give Commanders and Battlestaffers a 24/7 situational picture of the battlefield. When the order is given to strike these enemy targets, both the Heron 1 and Commandos can conduct cooperative lasing for our F-15SG and F-16C/D fighters to employ their laser-guided munition to destroy more targets simultaneously.

The CP's Command and Control Integrated System is enhanced through the use of Artificial Intelligence, allowing Commanders to make sense of intelligence quicker, and better decisions faster (photo : Sing Mindef)

3. Smart - Exploiting Technology for Smarter Decisions

There is a vast amount of information that needs to be effectively communicated for missions to be accomplished successfully. With the help of the Defence Technology Community, the latest technology is exploited to create a smarter and more connected fighting force.

The CP constantly integrates all the data provided by the sensors in order to provide Commanders with a digitalised and comprehensive situational picture of the battlefield. The locations of multiple hostile threats are also transmitted to the fighters and attack helicopters, guiding them to strike their targets with deadly precision.

This Smart CP enables Commanders to make faster, better informed and more effective decisions that help guarantee a swifter victory.

A suite of precision munitions is being utilised at XFS19, including the GBU-10 and GBU-12 Laser Guided Bombs, and the GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition (photo : Sing Mindef)

4. Deadly - Striking Targets with Precision

Directed by the Smart CP, our F-15SG and F-16C/D fighters and the AH-64D Apaches are able to deliver swift, precise and deadly strikes on multiple targets simultaneously across different areas of operations, in both day and night conditions. With their advanced munitions, our fighters are able to rapidly destroy multiple moving targets and demolish enemy buildings with pin-point accuracy to minimise collateral damage.

Supporting the land campaign, our attack helicopters comb the battlefield to neutralise enemy vehicles and tanks.

RSAF's Multi-Role Tanker Transport (left) positioning itself to refuel aircraft in mid-air (photo : Sing Mindef)

5. First Overseas Exercise for our A330 MRTT

XFS 19 also marks the inaugural participation of our A330 MRTT in an overseas exercise! The next-generation tanker aircraft is capable of conducting air-to-air refuelling and airlift roles simultaneously. With its support, the fighters will be able to stay airborne for a longer period of time and allow for greater operational flexibility to be employed at a suitable time and location when the opportunity arises!

(Mindef)