Latest Issues

The author highlights that many contemporary military strategists and practitioners value the philosophiescontained in Carl Von Clausewitz’s classic On War and its relevance to present day conflict. On the other hand, thereare also speculation and debates over Clausewitz’s relevance to contempora...

The author has structured the essay in five parts. He first defines what Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are. He describes the rules that AWS are expected to operate under when dealing with combatants and non-combatants. He then explains why accounting for the act...

In this essay, the author is of the opinion that the proliferation of cheap weaponised drones is not merely an incremental tactical innovation. He believes that, it provides non-state actors with a precision capability impervious to most defences and, is capable of targeting any military asset. T...

3-Dimensional (3D) printing is a form of Additive Manufacturing (AM) process which creates a 3D object from a model through the fusion of material. Although 3D printing started from as early as the 1980s, the technological leap to move beyond the realm of rapid prototyping only began in the 2010s...

In today’s information-centric world, potential aggressors can be discerned if a country possesses the actual means to retaliate and exercise their deterrence stance. The two pillars of Singapore’s defence policy built on diplomacy and deterrence relies on the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) to back...

In this essay, the author argues that currently, while there are limitations in Artificial Intelligence (AI) decision-making, it is too late to prohibit the use of autonomous technologies for future warfare. This is due to the potential of Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS) as the next Revolution i...

In this essay, the author argues for the proliferation of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV) in projecting air power in 2035, and highlights the concerns involved. The author first describes the likely security landscape in the years ahead. Next, he goes on to highlight the trends of UCAVs an...

Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, contended that the Industrial Revolutions (IRs) were the main driving force behind technological improvements. In the same vein, the author considers that the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), through various transformations, is now capable of execut...

According to the author, autonomous technology is increasingly adopted by the various military forces around the world. In fact, there is a wide proliferation of robots which are being used to replace humans for many tasks, even in the battlefield. However, the author feels that the adoption of a...

According to the author, hybrid entities are state-sponsored groups which possess training, discipline and equipment, like state militaries. Where these groups lack high end equipment (e.g. tanks, aircraft), they compensate with asymmetric tactics of operating in urban environment and exploiting ...