Military history of Singapore Colonial period . The first infantry unit was formed at Raffles Institution by volunteers on May 15 , 1901 . Notable members include the first commissioned officer , Yusof Ishak , who later became Singapore ' s first president . Post - WWII . Singapore has enjoyed a period of relative peace . Military exercises like Operation Cleansweep , with Raffles Corps commanding officer Chandra Venugopal , on May 1977 give the public a periodic display . Konfrontasi . Konfrontasi was a policy of confrontation by Indonesia from 1963 to 1966 , in opposition to the formation of Malaysia from the Federation of Malaya , Sabah , Sarawak , and Singapore . While there was no all - out war , there were numerous raids by Indonesian " volunteers " on targets within then - Malaysia , which included Singapore . The Philippines were aligned with Indonesia due to its claim for Sabah . It broke off diplomatic relations with Malaysia , but did not participate in the hostilities . One of the raids the MacDonald House bombing on 10 March 1965 by two Indonesian saboteurs . Two people were killed and thirty three were injured . The saboteurs were caught , and they turned out to be from the Korps Marinir . They were subsequently tried and executed , despite great pressure from Indonesia . In later years , the executions remained a source of unhappiness in Singapore - Indonesian relations . Lee Kwan Yew later sprinkled flowers on the graves of the Marines , helping heal the rift between the two countries . During Konfrontasi , the First and Second Battalions , Singapore Infantry Regiment ( 1 SIR and 2 SIR ) were placed under Malaysian command and deployed in various parts of Malaya to fight the saboteurs . Local defence was the responsibility of the Singapore Volunteer Corps and the Vigilante Corps . Hostilities ended with the overthrow of President Sukarno in October 1965 . Post - independence . After Singapore ' s independence on 9 August 1965 , strained ties with the two immediate neighbors , Malaysia and Indonesia made defense a high priority . Then - PM Lee Kuan Yew appointed Goh Keng Swee to head the new Ministry of Interior and Defence . In 1966 , drawing from the Israeli model , National Service was determined the best way to provide for a deterrent to potential aggressors . A Brigadier T . J . D . Campbell was appointed as the first Director of the General Staff . The first cohorts of officers and non - commissioned officer s ( now Specialist s ) , taught by Israeli instructors , graduated from Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute ( SAFTI ) in 1967 . With this new cadre of leaders , army was expanded from the existing two infantry battalions to two brigades between 1967 and 1970 . Efforts were made to ensure unit integrity by keeping the officers , NCOs , and men of reservist battalions together . The Air Defence Command ( now Republic of Singapore Air Force ) was formed with the help of Royal Air Force in 1968 . The first class of pilots receiving basic military training and general flying instructions in the new Flying Training School at Tengah Air Base , and fighter training in the UK . The Maritime Command ( now Republic of Singapore Navy ) was based at Sentosa temporarily until permanent facilities at the now - defunct Brani Naval Base were ready . Two gunboats were built by the British and Germans in 1969 ; subsequent models were built locally , entering service in 1970 . The ex - USS Thrasher and USS Whippoorwill ( commissioned RSS Jupiter and RSS Mercury ) minesweepers and " County " - class tank landing ship s were purchased from the United States subsequently . Start of the defense industry . In 1967 , the Sheng - Li Holding Company ( Simplified Chinese : 胜利 ; pinyin : " sheng li " ; translated : " victory " ) was established under the Ministry of Defence to promote the local defense industry . By the 1970s , Singapore was producing small arms ( the M - 16 ) through Chartered Industries of Singapore ( CIS ) and small arms , mortar , and artillery ammunition through Chartered Ammunition Industries for local use and export . Sheng - Li Holdings was later restructured into Singapore Technologies ( now ST Engineering ) in 1989 , the parent of ST Kinetics . ST Kinetics produces the indigenous SAR - 21 and Bionix AFV today . Others , either locally designed or locally - owned designs , such as the Ultimax 100 , SAR - 80 , SR - 88 , FH - 88 , and FH - 2000 were also produced .