High-rise buildings, loud blasts and MRT train among features at newly-launched SAFTI City

SINGAPORE: Empty high-rise buildings, loud blasts and smoke, and a decommissioned MRT train can be found in this “city”.

A group of soldiers gets ready to enter and kill enemy troops inside one of the buildings, in a bid to capture it. 

It might look like a dystopian war movie scene, but this was a typical day of training at phase one of SAFTI City, a new urban training facility which was officially launched on Wednesday (Mar 19) by Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen. 

Since opening for training in October last year, about 3,000 soldiers have undergone training there, with about 20,000 soldiers expected to train at the site annually. 

The mix of low- and high-rise buildings allows up to two battalions, or about 1,200 soldiers, to train at one time.

“SAFTI City is a physical manifestation of giving realism to our soldiers so that they are prepared,” said Dr Ng during the launch of the facility. 

During the early years of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), jungle warfare was the predominant mode of battle, noted Dr Ng. 

"But obviously, the world has moved on, and one of the cardinal tenets for the SAF was realistic training, and urban (operations) will increasingly play a role in any military," he said. 

He added that he was unaware of any military in the world achieving "this scale of complexity" with such training facilities. 

To simulate an urban environment, some militaries would stack shipping containers and cut holes in them, he said. 

"My staff tell me that (foreign militaries) come here and they are astounded that we've committed to building this type of facility ... they've never seen this anywhere," he said.  

At the launch, Dr Ng unveiled a plaque commemorating the facility's opening alongside the Chief of Army, Major-General David Neo and Brigadier-General Cai Dexian, who will take over MG Neo's role on Mar 21.

Phase two of SAFTI City will see the building of an industrial complex as well as a ferry terminal, but no timeline has been provided on its completion. 

Members of the media were given a tour of SAFTI City on Mar 13, starting with a walkthrough of a “bus interchange”, which had boarding berths, escalator mock-ups and high ceilings reminiscent of such facilities in real life. 

The "interchange" is one of 71 buildings in the city, of which 43 are mid- to high-rise ones. 

HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS

Next to the bus interchange was one such high-rise structure - a 12-storey “office building” called Murai Tower - which simulates an office building. Members of the media were brought to the top floor. 

There are three 12-storey buildings in the city, with the other two simulating a residential block and a hotel. 

Sensors are dotted around the building - along corridors, rooms and the lift - allowing trainers to track each soldier’s position during a combat exercise. 

Devices marked in yellow and black are located on the exterior of buildings. Known as a “shoot through wall module”, they can simulate a wall “crumbling” when a soldier shoots at it. This adds to the realism of battle, as soldiers can no longer hide behind walls if they are “destroyed”. 

There are also speakers that emit noises, such as blasts from an air strike, to keep soldiers on their toes. 

There are a total of around 11,000 such sensors and devices installed throughout SAFTI City, which help add to the realism of warfare and track the movement of soldiers. 

The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a statement that SAFTI City "is designed to resemble a densely populated urbanised city, with a mix of low and high-rise buildings having multiple entries and exits, interconnected buildings, subterranean environment, presenting a realistic environment to challenge our soldiers in the complexities of urban operations".

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Darius Kwa, operations manager of SAFTI City said SAFTI City was built to train soldiers for “high intensity” urban operations, disaster relief, homeland security and counter-terrorism. 

To ensure its relevancy in the Singapore context, the mix of high-rise and low-rise buildings was modelled after the country's urban landscape, taking reference from different Housing Board (HDB) town centres. 

“Within these 71 buildings, you will also see public amenities being built, for example, hospitals, schools, as well as a transport hub,” said LTC Kwa, who is from the Singapore army’s Training and Doctrine Command. 

DECOMMISSIONED MRT TRAIN 

Other than the bus interchange, the transport hub also includes an MRT station, named Poyan station after the nearby reservoir. There were signs around the station that took reference from real MRT signs, showing the location of other train lines and exits. 

A mock “gantry” greeted the media but reporters were not required to tap their cards to pass through it. Going down two floors, there was a four-carriage decommissioned MRT train from the North-South-East-West Line at the platform below. 

The trains were decommissioned in November 2023, and 11 carriages were relocated to SAFTI City in December that year, with the remaining seven carriages located at another “MRT station” within the city. 

The trains were retrofitted with lighting and ventilation, and the doors were also powered so they could be opened and closed. 

While the platform was technically on the first floor, it has been designed to mimic an underground environment.

This is to save resources from having to dig underground, said LTC Kwa. 

As such, the “exits” of the station are located on the rooftop of the four-storey transport hub, to mimic an above-ground exit from an underground station. 

ENTERING SAFTI CITY

A group of six soldiers entered a large drain as the media observed. Walking along the wet ground, they stealthily made their way towards SAFTI City. Their mission? To capture the city and overthrow the enemy. 

The drains were not there by chance, but specially constructed with training in mind. They are 180cm high and 100cm wide - enough for an average person to walk through without bending over - and there is also ventilation, bringing fresh air. 

Some members of the media, including this journalist, also stepped into the drain, following the soldiers closely while avoiding large puddles. 

The soldiers climbed out of the drain and began their assault, first breaking open a locked door and entering a building.

Through this process, trainers are able to track the movement of the soldiers and enemies using a mobile tablet. 

The tablet can also be used to control the facilities at SAFTI city, such as large swing doors between buildings that can be closed to block the soldiers’ path, forcing them to find another way to the objective. 

The control over the training environment excited platoon trainer Captain Dilys Choo, who said she was even able to use the tablet to record footage of her troops in action and give immediate feedback to them. 

“After training ends, I can immediately go to them and give them feedback using these pictures and videos and the feedback I’ve written on the tablet, so this helps them learn on the spot,” she said. 

TAKING DOWN THE ENEMY

The soldiers who entered the building then proceeded to “shoot down” an “enemy”.  

But this was not a live soldier simulating an opposing force (OPFOR), but a static target that could “shoot back”. Once “killed”, the target would have a red light flash on its head, indicating it was “dead”. 

Such targets, including ones that move around on wheels, were among the new training features that MINDEF had unveiled last year. 

These automated targets complement the use of live OPFOR, which typically consists of soldiers playing the role of the enemy, said LTC Firdaus Mohd Ghazali, who is the commanding officer of the Motorised Infantry Battalion Training Centre, overseeing both trainers and trainees.  

“We have a hybrid of targeting systems and also the warm bodies of our OPFOR to augment and give a more realistic training outcome and better fight (experience) for the (soldiers),” he said. 

A simulation of artillery fire on various buildings at SAFTI City then followed. There were loud bangs, gunfire, smoke and flashes, with the media able to feel vibrations on the ground and shockwaves from the blasts. These realistic "battlefield effects" were achieved using machines such as blast simulators, smoke generators and a rocket-propelled grenade simulator.

The sights and sounds give soldiers a taste of a wartime environment, said 3rd Warrant Officer (3WO) Noor Hasif Ahmad, another trainer who had brought his troops here. 

“Soldiers are forced to adapt to the situation, even though the sounds are distracting them from the original mission, and at the same time, they have to provide cover for their soldiers and for themselves,” he said. 

Captain Choo said that her soldiers were “impressed by the magnitude” of SAFTI City when they first trained here. 

“(The magnitude) is very important, because they finally get to train in a location that actually mirrors how real life looks like, like shopping malls, buildings, HDB areas,” she said. 

“They know that their training is matching how the wars are developing.” 

Separately, at the launch, Dr Ng tried his hand at controlling the SAF's Quad-Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Q-UGV), which resembles a large dog in both size and appearance. 

The Defence Science and Technology Agency  showcased the Q-UGV as early as in 2022 during the Army Open House, and has functions such as security patrols and operations in hazardous or cluttered urban environments

MINDEF said that the Q-UGV can be operated in a range of environments, and that SAFTI City "affords us the ability to experiment in a realistic urban environment". 

This includes features such as narrow corridors and staircases.