From armoured personnel carriers used by British forces in Afghanistan to ammunition and firearms, the city-state is trying to enlarge the overseas market for its homegrown weapons and defence systems.
Its arms exports were in the limelight recently when India's defence ministry banned six weapons manufacturers for alleged involvement in a 2009 bribery case -- one of them a relatively little-known company from Singapore.
ST Kinetics, part of the multibillion-dollar ST Engineering industrial group, swiftly and vigorously denied the accusation but the mere mention of the firm underscored Singapore's growing ambitions in the world arms market.
ST Engineering dominates the defence industry in Singapore. It says it is one of the world's top suppliers of 40mm ammunition as well as portable weapons like its CIS 40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher.
The company was the biggest exhibitor at last month's Singapore Airshow where among the equipment on display was a new version of the Bronco, an armoured all-terrain troop carrier used by British forces in Afghanistan.
"Our things are battle-proven. If you need something special, we can also customise to give you an edge over other people," Patrick Choy, executive vice-president for international marketing at ST Engineering, told AFP at the show.
The British Army's 115 Broncos -- first deployed in Afghanistan in 2010 and dubbed the "Warthogs" -- are ST Engineering's pride, and billed as the first armoured vehicles built for a Western army by an Asian firm.
According to the Stockholm institute, Singapore has sold defence products to Indonesia, Chad, Nigeria, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil since 2000, generating US$1.75 billion (S$2.2 billion) in 2010 alone.
Despite its diverse customer profile, ST Engineering is still heavily dependent on the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Grevatt said.
Singapore has the largest defence budget in Southeast Asia, thanks to public funds generated by its phenomenal economic growth. It has set aside S$12.28 billion defence in 2012, at 24.4 percent the largest single allocation in the government's total budget.
Surrounded by far larger neighbours, Singapore has pursued a robust defence strategy since its split with Malaysia in 1965, and was initially advised by Israel.
All able-bodied Singaporean men are required to devote two years of full-time military service upon turning 18, providing additional manpower on top of the estimated 20,000 armed forces regulars.
Apart from its defence business, the company has worldwide operations in commercial land systems, aerospace, the marine industry and engineering, with over 100 subsidiaries in 23 countries.
Its aviation arm ST Aerospace is the largest independent aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul provider in the world.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
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