Singapore for first time reveals extensive defense ties with Israel

TOKYO — For the first time, Singapore has detailed its extensive defense relationship with Israel.

Singapore officials said Israel has launched several projects with their country in research and development. These projects have upgraded anti-tank missiles, simulators and electro-optics technologies.

The officials broke decades of silence in Singapore's relationship with Israel during an address by Defense Minister Tony Tan. Tan, who is also deputy prime minister, was launching a research and development facility on Wednesday.

"Our defense industry collaboration with our Israeli counterparts has enabled us to leapfrog into technologies such as electro-optics, training simulators and anti-tank missiles," Tan said. "In anti-tank missile technology for example, we collaborated with Israel to develop state-of-the-art anti-tank guided missile systems. These missile systems allow both fire-and-forget and fire-and-observe modes of operation."

Tan praised the Israeli improvements to Singapore's weapons. He said the fire-and-forget mode of the guided missile system employs "sophisticated TV guidance technology and significantly increases the range of the missile." He said the missiles are highly accurate and provide Singapore troops with "the best possible all weather, day and night anti-tank protection."

Israel is a leading defense partner of Singapore, officials said. The Jewish state joins such countries as Australia, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States as partners in R&D.

Israel is one of three countries that have established joint technology funds with Singapore, officials said. The other countries are France and Sweden.

Tan said he cannot discuss many of the programs Singapore has with Israel and other countries. He said such cooperation with increase over the next few years.

"Many of these collaborative projects are classified and so I cannot speak about them today," he said. "It is in the nature of defense technology that there will be many secrets. We and our collaborating partners both share and safeguard the technologies that we develop together in order to protect the strategic interests of both parties."

Tan said Sweden helped Singapore establish research and development in defense against chemical weapons attack. The cooperation with France, he said, has increased significantly over the last few years. Last week, Aerospatiale-Matra Missiles said it won a contract -- part of an estimated a $700 million deal -- with Singapore for the supply of anti-ship missiles in a project that includes research and development.

"One key technology that we are collaborating with France is in stealth - the art and science of making military platforms less detectable by radars and sonars," Tan said.