Force protection troopers from the Field Defence Squadron, Tengah Air Base (FDS TAB) patrol the length of Lim Chu Kang Road before flying activities for Exercise Torrent V commence in November 2002.
The 2,500m long, six-land carriageway (24m wide), designated as an Emergency Runway (ER), was protected by FDS TAB for the duration of the 48-hour long exercise.
Seen on the ER are a V-200 armed with a 20mm Oerlikon cannon and six Mercedes-Benz MB240GDs armed with pintle-mounted 7.62mm GPMGs.
FDS troopers also hone their tactics during war games such as Iron Arrow and the Eagle Challenge, organised for Air Power Generation Command units. The FDS has since been renamed the Force Protection Squadron.
3 comments:
Isn't it past due for the Field Defence Squadrons (and the SAF in general) to replace these MB240GDs with some kind of protected vehicle? Standing up on a jeep aiming a GPMG is not a good idea unless your opponent is unarmed.
Hi LBB,
The SAF continues to transform.
You may have noted that budget allocations in recent years are funding the pivot from unarmoured B-vehicles to MRAP-type vehicles such as the Renault Higuard, URO VAMTAC, the Paramount Marauder with a higher level of protection against IEDs and small arms fire.
Am confident that RSAF FDS will, likewise, benefit from this transformation.
db
FDS will always get the hand-me-downs. AR15 with the "space-gun" flash suppressor were issued. So were Ultimax 100 Mk1.
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