Singapore troops wait for senior leaders to land at Shoalwater Bay. Picture: Department of Defence
New, larger facilities at the Shoalwater Bay defence training area will allow Singaporean soldiers to use it for longer on their own or with Australian personnel.
An Australian Defence Force statement says the opening coincided with the start of Exercise Trident, a biennial training exercise between the ADF and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
Australia’s Secretary of Defence, Greg Moriarty, and Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Defence, Heng Chee How, recently opened the expanded joint training facility.
The Shoalwater Bay Training Area has been expanded to meet the future needs of the ADF and facilitate an increased presence of SAF personnel conducting unilateral training in Australia, the Australian Defence Force says.
Up to 6600 SAF personnel can now train for 63 days at a time compared to 45 days previously.
New additions include:
- two urban live fire facilities in what is described as a first for Australia;
- joint air-land ranges;
- camp accommodation for up to 2000 personnel;
- medical, administration, exercise control facilities and supporting infrastructure.
Moriarty said the new facilities means better training for Australia and Singapore.
“The expansion of the training area will enable the ADF and SAF to concurrently conduct our own unilateral training, and also support enhanced bilateral training and complexity,” he says.
“This is the latest milestone in our nations’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We welcome the opportunity to continue to learn from each other in a joint exercise environment.”
Exercise Trident 2024 is designed to bolster both nations’ ability to land troops from the sea. It was first held in 2013 and has grown since.
This year’s event focused on air mobile, littoral (shore landing) and urban combat operations
It will involve more than 1900 SAF and ADF personnel, two ships and include a combined science and technology component focusing on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) interoperability.
