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The Artillery is a formation of the Singapore Army, comprising four active battalions—the 20th, 21st, 23rd and 24th Battalions—and an undisclosed number of reservist battalions.[citation needed] The primary role of the Artillery formation is to deliver timely, accurate and effective fire in support of the manoeuvre force to accomplish missions. As an indirect fire support system, the gunners rely on the forward observer and target acquisition elements to provide the target's location, which is then passed to the command post to direct the gunners to fire.
| Artillery | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Artillery Formation | |
| Active | 22 February 1888 – present |
| Country |  Singapore |
| Branch |  Singapore Army |
| Type | Artillery |
| Role | Indirect fire Target acquisition |
| Size | 4 battalions[citation needed] |
| Part of | Singapore Armed Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Khatib Camp Kranji Camp II |
| Motto(s) | In Oriente Primus ("First in the East") |
| Colours | Dark Blue |
| Website | Official website |
| Commanders | |
| Chief Artillery Officer | COL Ong Chiou Perng[1] |
The unofficial motto of the Artillery formation is "Once a Gunner, Always a Gunner!"[2]
History
editThe Artillery formation traces its origins to 22 February 1888, when it was created as the Singapore Volunteer Artillery Corps by the British Armed Forces.
After Singapore gained its independence in 1965, Minister for Defence Goh Keng Swee tasked Captain Mancharan Singh Gill[3] with building up an artillery battalion for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
On 1 June 1967, the 20th People's Defence Force (Artillery) was redesignated as the 20th Singapore Artillery Battalion (20 SAB) and assigned to operate the 120mm Light Tampella Mortar, which Artillery units were subsequently equipped with in the 1970s.[4]
In 1978, the Artillery Training Centre (ARTC) was created to replace the Artillery Reserve Administrative to meet the training requirements of reservists.
Since 1988, the Artillery formation has undergone rapid modernisation in training, operations and weapons development when the Singapore Armed Forces partnered with ST Kinetics and Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) to acquire and/or develop new equipment such as the Field Howitzer 88 and SAFARI Weapon Locating Radar.[4]
From 2007 to 2013, the Singapore Artillery contributed to United Nations peacekeeping operations by deploying 492 personnel and radar-locating weapons to Afghanistan.[4]
The Singapore Artillery celebrated its Centennial in 1988.
Organisation
editGunners in the Artillery formation have different specialisations. Gunners using the M142 HIMARS, SSPH Primus, SLWH Pegasus and Field Howitzer 2000 batteries are trained to maintain and operate the weapon systems to deliver precision fire. Gunners in the STrike ObserveR Mission (STORM) batteries are in charge of coordinating air strikes and artillery fire to deliver maximum damage to enemies in a target area. Gunners in the Field Artillery Target Acquisition batteries maintain and operate radars designed to locate enemy artillery and provide early warnings or opportunities to counter-fire on the enemy artillery. Gunners in the Field Artillery Meteorological System sections specialise in providing timely and accurate atmospheric data, such as wind speed and direction, in order to increase the accuracy of artillery fire.[4]
Equipment
edit| Equipment | Image | Type | Origin | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ordnance QF 25-pounder |  |
Howitzer |  United Kingdom |
for ceremonial use, such as during the National Day Parade | [5] |
| SSPH Primus |  |
Self-propelled howitzer | Singapore |
[6] | |
| M142 HIMARS |  |
Multiple rocket launcher |  United States |
[6] | |
| FH-2000 |  |
Howitzer | Singapore |
[7] | |
| FH-88 | Howitzer | Singapore |
[7] | ||
| SLWH Pegasus |  |
Howitzer | Singapore |
[8] | |
| Bronco ATTC Mortar Tracked Carrier |  |
Mortar carrier | Singapore |
equipped with the 120mm Super Rapid Advanced Mortar System (SRAMS) | [9] |
| SAFARI Weapon Locating Radar | Ground-based mobile multi-mission radar |  Israel |
mounted on the Bronco ATTC | [10] |
References
edit- ^ "Army Organisation Structure". Ministry of Defence (Singapore). 6 July 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "'PM Lee, my army buddy': What it was like doing NS with the man who became Prime Minister". Channelnewsasia.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Portrait of Colonel Mancharan Singh Gill, Chief of Artillery of Singapore Armed Forces". National Library Board (Singapore). Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Singapore Artillery". Ministry of Defence (Singapore). 6 July 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ Kek, Xabryna (4 August 2016). "Behind-the-scenes: What goes into the 21-gun salute for NDP". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Live-firing of the Primus". Mindef.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 4 April 2005. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b "The Singapore Army - Artillery - Equipment". Mindef.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Commissioning of the Singapore Light Weight Howitzer Pegasus". Mindef.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 30 October 2005. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Lethality on the Modern Battlefield" Archived 21 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, RUSI Defence Systems, 2004
- ^ Administrator. "SAFARI Weapon Locating Radar enters in service with the Singapore Armed Forces 13009163 | September 2016 Global Defense Security news industry | Defense Security global news industry army 2016 | Archive News year". www.armyrecognition.com. Retrieved 11 February 2018.