Brunei crown prince tours SAFTI City, gets first-hand look at Singapore’s urban combat training
The visit coincides with the 50th anniversary of Singapore-Brunei defence relations.
Brunei’s Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah firing an SAR21 rifle during a Battlefield Effect Simulation at SAFTI City in western Singapore on Sep 30, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Mak Jia Kee)
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SINGAPORE: Brunei’s Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah visited SAFTI City on Wednesday (Sep 30), where he observed battlefield simulations and fired weapons used by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
The crown prince, also a senior minister in the Prime Minister’s Office of Brunei, was hosted during the visit by Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Defence in Singapore.
He was briefed on how SAFTI City supports realistic and complex urban training for SAF, before touring the facility and observing demonstrations that included a simulation of battlefield effects.
He also fired the Singapore Assault Rifle 21, or SAR 21, and the SAKO TRG-22 sniper rifle.
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Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a news release that the crown prince also watched an indoor flight demonstration of an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance drone and viewed static displays of SAFTI City’s training systems.
The crown prince is in Singapore from Sep 28 to Oct 2 for the 12th Singapore-Brunei Young Leaders’ Programme, which he is co-chairing with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
This is the fourth time the two leaders have co-chaired the programme, which aims to build and deepen ties between the next generation of leaders from both countries.
INSIDE SAFTI CITY
SAFTI City, officially launched in 2025, is an urban training facility designed to replicate the complexities of combat in a densely populated city.
It has a mix of low- and high-rise buildings, and up to two battalions – or about 1,200 soldiers – can train there at the same time.
The facility takes cues from Singapore’s urban landscape and includes simulated public amenities such as schools, hospitals and a transport hub.
Its features include a mock MRT station containing decommissioned train carriages and about 11,000 sensors and devices that help track soldiers and create realistic combat effects such as simulated artillery fire.
During the visit, Mr Zaqy and the crown prince were accompanied by Brunei’s Minister of Transport and Infocommunications Mohammed Riza and Vice-Admiral Aaron Beng, Singapore’s Chief of Defence, as well as senior officials from both countries.
50 YEARS OF DEFENCE TIES
Singapore and Brunei mark 50 years of defence relations this year.
Over the past five decades, SAF and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces have regularly interacted through high-level visits, professional exchanges and bilateral and multilateral exercises, MINDEF said.
“These interactions have strengthened cooperation and deepened mutual understanding between personnel of both armed forces.
“Singapore remains committed to building on this strong foundation and further strengthen our defence relationship with Brunei Darussalam in the years ahead,” the ministry added.
A day earlier on Tuesday, the crown prince met Singapore’s leaders, including Prime Minister Wong. He had lunch with Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and was hosted to tea by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
During the meetings, the two sides discussed global developments and ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in areas that could create opportunities for their businesses and people, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The crown prince visited Tuas Port on Monday and his five-day itinerary also includes visits to the Sultan Mosque, the Malay Heritage Centre and Singapore Oceanarium, as well as the Temasek Shophouse, the Punggol Digital District, the SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute of Biodiversity Medicine and the Singapore Institute of Technology.
Source: CNA/fh(sf)
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