The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) ability to see, hear, know and act upon military situations that may threaten the Lion City can be optimised to combat environmental calamities such as the haze.
Enhanced situational awareness brought about by being able to see first, see more, decide and act decisively can crimp forest/plantation/peat bog fires before they flare out of control.
Close and long-standing ties between the Indonesian military (TNI) and SAF could, for instance, extend to the realm of overhead surveillance.
The TNI and SAF already cooperate on many fronts, with Indonesian warships sailing to the republic for lessons in areas such as sea mine detection and disposal.
The tri-nation Malacca Strait Coordinated Patrols have seen maritime patrol aircraft from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore coordinate maritime air surveillance over the busy shipping lane in the fight against sea robbers and pirates.
With transboundary pollution making headlines on either side of the Malacca Strait, it is timely to examine if regional military-to-military cooperation can be extended to the area of surveillance using assets in space.
Imagery Support Group
Such expertise is closely guarded among regional militaries. In the SAF, the subject matter experts for satellite imagery resides with the Imagery Support Group (ISG).
But while military forces keep their cards close to their chest, satellite imagery of high resolution is readily available from commercial operators to anyone with deep wallets.
The military's contribution is its ability to keep a close watch on areas of interest 24/365, with an intimacy and comprehensive awareness unmatched by commercial satellite operators.
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In the context of haze prevention, a close watch on Indonesian fire risks could nip the situation in the bud the moment overhead birds capture the telltale flare of a fresh blaze. In the United States, some recon birds have eyes so sensitive that they are optimised to watch for the exhaust plume from ballistic missiles the moment their main engines flare.
It is likely that ISG will, someday, be able to perform similar magic.
However, the kill chain would not be complete without the assistance of, and coordination with, Indonesian authorities who can supply boots on the ground to investigate the fire at source and deal with it decisively.
If the MSCP has helped the Indonesia, Malaysian and Singaporean militaries overcome inertia in working together, and if the Changi Naval Base Command & Control (C2) centre has helped forge better understanding among regional military forces, it is perhaps time for ISG to run a regional satellite imagery centre to keep an eye on impending environmental situations.
Such situations would include the haze and calamities such as flooding, earthquake relief, tsunamis etc.
UAVs for haze watch
Coming closer to earth, the SAF should consider deploying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for haze watch.
At present, Singapore can photograph regional hotspots and shares this regularly online on government sites such as the one by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
But there is a dead zone between the time hotspots are photographed on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the time smoke gets into your eyes. And by the time NEA tells you about it through Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) updates, that data is three hours old.
Modifications made to SAF UAVs could see them deployed as aerial meteorological stations, equipped with air sensors that investigate air quality in international airspace some distance from Singapore's shores.
Surely minitiarised and ruggedised PSI sensors can be added aboard a UAV to turn it into a flying air sensing platform? If our defence engineers can do that, the achievement would be worthy of a Defence Technology prize and would be cheered by Singaporeans as the forward intelligence would allow planners here to find out the extent and composition of smoke plumes as they drift to Singapore.
Such work is admittedly dull, literally dirty and dangerous; just the thing UAVs are built for. :-)
Public Warning System (PWS)
The intel picked up by ISG and UAVs would mean nothing to Singaporeans, if heartlanders are not warned in advance before Hazardous conditions descend on this little red dot.
I know many friends and colleagues who were bitterly disappointed on black Friday yesterday, when the PSI hit an all-time high of 401 points (Hazardous). Those of you in Singapore would probably have seen, smelt and experienced firsthand the choking conditions brought about by the dense 400 PSI-level haze.
But what we saw and breathed in was confirmed in retrospect by NEA's three-hour readings.
If the worst happened and a killer 600 PSI-level plume drifted towards Singapore, would we find out only after half the Singaporean population is knocked out in a Bhopal-like disaster?
We already have the capability to forewarn Singapore residents of trouble. This lies in the island-wide network of Public Warning System (PWS) sirens.
In the opinion of this blog, the PWS should have been sounded the moment air monitoring stations detected bad air that crossed into Hazardous territory.
Not to do so is a letdown for the millions of Singaporeans who are not lucky enough to be connected to NEA's online updates.
Blaring the PWS would not kill or mitigate the haze. But early warning which the PWS was designed to do would help Singaporeans know that trouble is approaching and do something about it (example: remain indoors with In-place protection protocol).
Water bombers
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The final suggestion came from a reader who wrote an email about the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) that can be installed about tactical airlifters such as the Lockheed C-130.
It is interesting to note that the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) can role change its Charlies for special duties of an electronic nature, but has yet to consider turning the C-130 into a flying water bomber.
Doing so would allow Singapore to lend its weight to regional fire fighting efforts - not just in Indonesia as such blazes also affect our neighbours like Australia and Thailand.
In the bigger scheme of things, MAFFS would allow Singapore to provide first responders who could act on the intel provided by the regional satellite surveillance centre.
And should best efforts fail and the blaze produce another haze plume, then up go the UAVs flying at various altitudes to provide Singapore with forward, one bound ahead awareness of the size, max height and lethality of the haze plume.
Forewarned with such intel, authorities would be in a better position to use the PWS to alert the population of impending Hazardous conditions long before the murk hits your window.
Such assets would allow the full spectrum SAF to better protect Singaporeans from external threats during a OOTW situation.
It is one thing for the haze to irritate Singaporeans when fires are started with no ill intent or by nature.
Imagine the impact on this country if fires are deliberately lit on a scale unseen before as an act of eco terror. That is one terror threat our full spectrum SAF cannot properly address despite its current order of battle and multi billion dollar budget.
Next:
Haze watch: Heartware and psychological defence during the 2013 haze
Eco Terrorism
Enhanced situational awareness brought about by being able to see first, see more, decide and act decisively can crimp forest/plantation/peat bog fires before they flare out of control.
Close and long-standing ties between the Indonesian military (TNI) and SAF could, for instance, extend to the realm of overhead surveillance.
The TNI and SAF already cooperate on many fronts, with Indonesian warships sailing to the republic for lessons in areas such as sea mine detection and disposal.
The tri-nation Malacca Strait Coordinated Patrols have seen maritime patrol aircraft from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore coordinate maritime air surveillance over the busy shipping lane in the fight against sea robbers and pirates.
With transboundary pollution making headlines on either side of the Malacca Strait, it is timely to examine if regional military-to-military cooperation can be extended to the area of surveillance using assets in space.
Imagery Support Group
Such expertise is closely guarded among regional militaries. In the SAF, the subject matter experts for satellite imagery resides with the Imagery Support Group (ISG).
But while military forces keep their cards close to their chest, satellite imagery of high resolution is readily available from commercial operators to anyone with deep wallets.
The military's contribution is its ability to keep a close watch on areas of interest 24/365, with an intimacy and comprehensive awareness unmatched by commercial satellite operators.
In the context of haze prevention, a close watch on Indonesian fire risks could nip the situation in the bud the moment overhead birds capture the telltale flare of a fresh blaze. In the United States, some recon birds have eyes so sensitive that they are optimised to watch for the exhaust plume from ballistic missiles the moment their main engines flare.
It is likely that ISG will, someday, be able to perform similar magic.
However, the kill chain would not be complete without the assistance of, and coordination with, Indonesian authorities who can supply boots on the ground to investigate the fire at source and deal with it decisively.
If the MSCP has helped the Indonesia, Malaysian and Singaporean militaries overcome inertia in working together, and if the Changi Naval Base Command & Control (C2) centre has helped forge better understanding among regional military forces, it is perhaps time for ISG to run a regional satellite imagery centre to keep an eye on impending environmental situations.
Such situations would include the haze and calamities such as flooding, earthquake relief, tsunamis etc.
UAVs for haze watch
Coming closer to earth, the SAF should consider deploying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for haze watch.
At present, Singapore can photograph regional hotspots and shares this regularly online on government sites such as the one by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
But there is a dead zone between the time hotspots are photographed on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the time smoke gets into your eyes. And by the time NEA tells you about it through Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) updates, that data is three hours old.
Modifications made to SAF UAVs could see them deployed as aerial meteorological stations, equipped with air sensors that investigate air quality in international airspace some distance from Singapore's shores.
Surely minitiarised and ruggedised PSI sensors can be added aboard a UAV to turn it into a flying air sensing platform? If our defence engineers can do that, the achievement would be worthy of a Defence Technology prize and would be cheered by Singaporeans as the forward intelligence would allow planners here to find out the extent and composition of smoke plumes as they drift to Singapore.
Such work is admittedly dull, literally dirty and dangerous; just the thing UAVs are built for. :-)
Public Warning System (PWS)
The intel picked up by ISG and UAVs would mean nothing to Singaporeans, if heartlanders are not warned in advance before Hazardous conditions descend on this little red dot.
I know many friends and colleagues who were bitterly disappointed on black Friday yesterday, when the PSI hit an all-time high of 401 points (Hazardous). Those of you in Singapore would probably have seen, smelt and experienced firsthand the choking conditions brought about by the dense 400 PSI-level haze.
But what we saw and breathed in was confirmed in retrospect by NEA's three-hour readings.
If the worst happened and a killer 600 PSI-level plume drifted towards Singapore, would we find out only after half the Singaporean population is knocked out in a Bhopal-like disaster?
We already have the capability to forewarn Singapore residents of trouble. This lies in the island-wide network of Public Warning System (PWS) sirens.
In the opinion of this blog, the PWS should have been sounded the moment air monitoring stations detected bad air that crossed into Hazardous territory.
Not to do so is a letdown for the millions of Singaporeans who are not lucky enough to be connected to NEA's online updates.
Blaring the PWS would not kill or mitigate the haze. But early warning which the PWS was designed to do would help Singaporeans know that trouble is approaching and do something about it (example: remain indoors with In-place protection protocol).
Water bombers
The final suggestion came from a reader who wrote an email about the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) that can be installed about tactical airlifters such as the Lockheed C-130.
It is interesting to note that the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) can role change its Charlies for special duties of an electronic nature, but has yet to consider turning the C-130 into a flying water bomber.
Doing so would allow Singapore to lend its weight to regional fire fighting efforts - not just in Indonesia as such blazes also affect our neighbours like Australia and Thailand.
In the bigger scheme of things, MAFFS would allow Singapore to provide first responders who could act on the intel provided by the regional satellite surveillance centre.
And should best efforts fail and the blaze produce another haze plume, then up go the UAVs flying at various altitudes to provide Singapore with forward, one bound ahead awareness of the size, max height and lethality of the haze plume.
Forewarned with such intel, authorities would be in a better position to use the PWS to alert the population of impending Hazardous conditions long before the murk hits your window.
Such assets would allow the full spectrum SAF to better protect Singaporeans from external threats during a OOTW situation.
It is one thing for the haze to irritate Singaporeans when fires are started with no ill intent or by nature.
Imagine the impact on this country if fires are deliberately lit on a scale unseen before as an act of eco terror. That is one terror threat our full spectrum SAF cannot properly address despite its current order of battle and multi billion dollar budget.
Next:
Haze watch: Heartware and psychological defence during the 2013 haze
Eco Terrorism