SINGAPORE: The Singapore Armed Force's Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tank made its debut in an annual training exercise in Australia on Saturday.

MINDEF said the refurbished German tanks provide the SAF with enhanced firepower, protection and mobility.

Witnessing the exercise was Singapore's Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean and his Australian counterpart, Joel Fitzgibbon.

The ministers also observed a live-firing exercise involving air and land platforms like Apache attack helicopters, the F-16 fighter aircraft, and Pegasus lightweight howitzers.

MINDEF said the missions, orchestrated by the Republic of Singapore Air Force's Land Headquarters and the Air-Land Tactical Control Centre, validate the SAF's ability to employ a wide suite of sensors and shooters to conduct coordinated manoeuvres and engage targets with precision.

The SAF has been conducting Exercise Wallaby at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland since 1990. About 3,600 personnel are taking part in this year's exercise, which ends on November 16.

Apart from the Wallaby series of exercises, the SAF and the Australian Defence Force interact extensively through bilateral and multilateral training exercises, visits, professional exchanges and military courses.


- CNA/so