Singapore’s Israel-made Heron-1 UAV to Debut at Bilateral Exercise with Australia

Singapore's Heron-1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is participating for the first time in Exercise Trident, a joint military exercise between the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) held from November 6 to 15 in Shoalwater Bay, Australia.

This year’s exercise features over 1,900 personnel from the Singapore Army, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), and the Australian Army, emphasizing interoperability and joint operational capabilities.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) purchased two Heron 1 UAVs from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) a decade ago to replace the Searcher-class UAV that has been in service since 1994. 

The Heron-1, along with RSAF’s AH-64D Apache helicopters, will support battalion-level amphibious operations. These operations include ship-to-shore movements of troops and vehicles using RSN’s Fast Craft Utility (FCU) and Fast Craft Equipment and Personnel (FCEP) deployed from Landing Ships Tank (LSTs) RSS Endurance and RSS Persistence.

This is not the first time this type of drone has participated in an exercise. In October 2019, the RSAF inadvertently revealed an enhanced Heron-1 UAV during the 'Forging Sabre' exercise at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, U.S. A CNA image published on October 7 showed an RSAF Heron-1 with a belly-mounted pod, likely containing an external sensor payload. The image was removed by October 8 and replaced with one showing a standard Heron-1 without the pod.

Exercise Trident is set to culminate in urban combat training, involving SAF and ADF troops in simulated close-quarter operations. In addition, defense scientists from Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and DSO National Laboratories are collaborating with the Australian Department of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) to showcase Science and Technology (S&T) demonstrations. These demonstrations include an integrated network of unmanned aerial and ground vehicles and a tactical 5G communications system, which enhances situational awareness and provides real-time 3D terrain mapping for SAF and ADF personnel.