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1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s

1970s

OUR HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

In 1972, DSO began as the Electronics Test Centre on the second floor of a converted detention centre along Onraet Road. A time when little was known about Electronic Warfare, three young engineers – Er Kwong Wah, Toh Kim Huat, and Benny Chan – were given a bold mission to research and develop technologies that would provide a secret edge to the SAF. Behind this vision was the far-reaching and searching mind of Dr Goh Keng Swee, Singapore’s first Minister for Defence. Recognising Singapore’s limited resources, he believed that leveraging technology as a force-multiplier would be the key to developing a formidable defence force.

Dr Goh was always talking about Electronic Warfare. He said that our officers were still fighting with swords and spears. ‘The future warfare is not like that! It’s all electronics, and remotely controlled! We must see the enemy without being seen!

Mr Er Kwong Wah
Pioneer, Electronics Test Centre

1972

Electronics Test Centre (ETC) is established

In his far-sighted vision to overcome Singapore’s strategic vulnerabilities by harnessing technology, then Minister for Defence Dr Goh Keng Swee, established the secret ETC with three engineers to study Electronic Warfare. This seeded the nation’s journey in defence research and development (R&D).

Helming the ETC was the late Dr Tay Eng Soon who immersed his young researchers in both laboratory and field work, nurturing them to first build simple equipment before subsequently developing more complex systems.

1977

ETC is formally established as Defence Science Organisation (DSO)

As ETC grew in size to more than 50 staff and expanded its research portfolio, it was officially renamed Defence Science Organisation to better reflect its mission and nature of work.

1980s

LEARNING TO FLY

In the 1980s, DSO saw a major transformation with more manpower and resources, and new headquarters. With a belief in “learning by doing”, DSO developed new skills, capabilities, and confidence through tireless trial and error.

I think what you can also consider successful, is that we managed to work and coordinate better with other parts of MINDEF, and get a better idea of what and where we were heading, and to define DSO’s role at that time.

Mr Tham Choon Tat

Director, DSO (1981 – 1986)

1986

DSO is the Centre of R&D for MINDEF and the SAF

DSO was designated as the Centre of R&D for the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) with the critical mission to develop game-changing capabilities and technologies.

1989

Opening of DSO building

The opening of the DSO building officially unveiled our existence and key role as MINDEF’s R&D organisation. With more than 500 researchers, DSO was the nation’s largest R&D outfit.

1990s

SPREADING OUR WINGS

Throughout the 1990s, DSO strived to be a breakthrough R&D organisation, with a key focus on transiting its R&D to deliver real capabilities to the SAF.

I would characterise it this way. For the first ten years, the seed was planted. I think in the second half of the ’80s, we were growing fast, and we finally had enough resources. In the third decade, we had real R&D capabilities. We were clearly able to deliver things.

Prof Su Guaning

Director, DSO (1986 – 1997)

CEO, DSO (1997 – 1998)

1995

DSO develops first Operational Datalink System

The operational datalink system comprised a customisable table mount computer loaded with indigenously developed software that executed DSO’s network protocols to enable connectivity amongst Singapore’s naval assets.

1997

DSO is corporatised

DSO was corporatised as a company limited by guarantee under MINDEF, and renamed as DSO National Laboratories (DSO), reflecting our status as a national institution. Corporatisation gave us important flexibilities to further our collaborative networks with local and overseas research institutes. It also enabled DSO to embrace best commercial practices in recruiting and retaining our scientific talents.

1997

DSO develops Singapore’s first MMIC

In collaboration with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), DSO designed, fabricated, and tested a gallium arsenide (GaAs) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC). This was the first-ever MMIC made in-country. Possessing such an indigenous capability has enabled the development of sophisticated electronic military systems for a wide range of applications such as sensors and communications.

1999

DSO develops Advanced Direction-Finding System

With a state-of-the-art receiver system, sophisticated algorithms, and proprietary antenna array design and system calibration techniques, this direction-finding system located signals with high accuracy and performed significantly better than commercially available systems.

1999

DSO prototypes first Battery-Powered UAV

DSO began prototyping one of the first portable electric Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that could fly non-stop for 60 minutes – a tremendous feat for battery-powered UAVs at the time.

2000s

FORGING A STRONGER DSO

Crossing the millennium, corporatisation granted DSO greater freedom in pursuing the best industry and market practices for talent recruitment and management. DSO also expanded its collaboration networks to conduct complementary research with partners locally and overseas. Taking on more complex projects, DSO gained confidence from successes while learning from failures.

Over the years, what has changed is the way we manage our people, our process, our customer relationship and our organisational culture. We are now a more open, mature and confident organisation.

Prof Quek Tong Boon

CEO, DSO (1998 – 2004)

2000

DSO develops and deploys first Intrusion Detection System

DSO developed and deployed the first intrusion detection system in MINDEF and the SAF, which provided improved situational awareness and enabled timely response to unauthorised activities on the network.

2000

DSO accomplishes a World Record for a 2-micron Laser

The DSO laser team broke the world record by achieving an output of 120W for a 2-micron laser. This seeded the team to power-scale its solid-state laser technologies for potentially high-payoff applications in compact configurations.

2001

Singapore’s first BSL-3 is established at DSO

Singapore’s first Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory was established at DSO, a significant first step in building up our strong technical competencies in biological defence, contributing significantly to the well-being of our soldiers in the SAF. The two BSL-3 laboratories in DSO played a key role responding to national crises, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, Ebola in 2014, and COVID-19 in 2020.

2002

DSO amends mission statement with focus on national security

In line with our 30th anniversary, our core mission was expanded to include the protection of Singapore’s critical infrastructure and information network for national security.

2003

DSO achieves Southeast Asia’s first and only OPCW Designated Laboratory status

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Designated Laboratory status was a strong reflection of DSO’s chemical verification capabilities being on par with some of the world’s best. DSO was the only OPCW-designated laboratory in Southeast Asia, and one of only 18 laboratories worldwide.

In the same year, during the SARS pandemic, DSO co-developed a diagnostic kit and provided diagnostic support for clinical samples to help lighten the load of hospitals nationally.

2004

DSO collaborates with NTU to set up EMERL

The Electromagnetic Effects Research Laboratory (EMERL) was the first national-level test facility which provided state-of-the-art facilities in the area of electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) for both military and civilian applications. Through this, DSO was able to advance research in EMI and EMC at a system level.

2010s

DELIVERING ADVANCED CAPABILITIES

This decade marked DSO’s 40th anniversary and saw it making significant achievements, such as launching Singapore’s home-grown satellites, X-SAT and TeLEOS-1, and deploying its Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear capabilities for national exigencies.

We need to stay relevant to the SAF. This means that we must maintain our deep mastery of the latest advances in science and technology. And we must ensure that what we conceptualise, we deliver.

Mr Quek Gim Pew

CEO, DSO (2004 – 2016)

2011

X-SAT, Singapore’s first microsatellite is launched into space

DSO successfully developed and launched Singapore’s first experimental microsatellite, X-SAT, together with NTU. In the same year, DSO, ST Engineering and NTU established ST Electronics (Satellite Systems), a joint venture to develop advanced earth observation satellites. This marked the start of an indigenous high-tech satellite industry, a major milestone for the nation.

2015

TeLEOS-1, Singapore’s first commercial Near Equatorial Orbit Earth Observation Satellite is successfully launched into space

The satellite was one of the most complex engineering systems ever developed in Singapore with DSO contributing its system engineering expertise, as part of its joint venture with ST Electronics (Satellite Systems).

2015

DSO demonstrates the Meredith 400 AUV

The first of its kind, M400 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is capable of long-endurance surveillance operations in our challenging underwater environment. Equipped with advanced sonar processing, it is able to autonomously detect and sieve out mine-like objects and can replace humans in hazardous underwater mine countermeasure operations.

2017

DSO moves into its new home, the DSO Complex

DSO’s new headquarters, the DSO Complex, was officially unveiled. Equipped with advanced facilities to strengthen key research areas such as robotics and artificial intelligence, it also housed our multidisciplinary teams together to foster greater ideas and innovations. The new Complex reflected DSO’s growth over the past decades into Singapore’s largest defence R&D organisation, with more than 1,500 research scientists and engineers.

2017

DSO demonstrates Singapore’s first hybrid fixed-wing UAV

DSO built and demonstrated a hybrid fixed-wing UAV capable of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). Equipped with in-house guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) solutions, the battery-powered V15 with a flight time of 3 hours is able to operate even in high wind, sand, and dust environments.

2018

DSO develops indigenous Unmanned Watch Towers

To meet Singapore’s urgent and unique operating challenges in coastal surveillance, DSO developed and delivered the Unmanned Watch Tower (UWT), a first-of-its-kind system which can reliably detect small targets with good confidence in our busy straits by applying concepts derived from an understanding of the human visual perception system.

2019

DSO is designated by OPCW to carry out chemical verification work on biomedical and environmental samples

The designation is a recognition of DSO’s advanced expertise and capabilities in this field. In the same year, DSO also became part of the ASEAN Chemical, Biological and Radiological (CBR) Network of technical experts.

Today

SCALING GREATER HEIGHTS

DSO is constantly evolving, thinking boldly, and pushing the boundaries to achieve our mission. DSO will remain agile and always ready to explore critical areas and exploit disruptive technologies to ensure our future readiness.

DSO’s primary mission remains as it was when we started fifty years ago. We are fully committed to develop technologies and solutions that provide a cutting edge to the defence of Singapore. We continue to support the SAF’s never-ending journey to be a modern armed forces that defends Singapore against the spectrum of evolving security challenges. In addition, we are extending our capabilities to support related needs in other national security agencies and whole-of-government crisis preparedness and management efforts.

Mr Cheong Chee Hoo

CEO, DSO (2016 – present)

2020

DSO develops its own indigenous cryptographic chip

The DSO Crypto Chip is able to detect sophisticated tampering attempts and destroy all secret data, rendering the chip useless to an adversary. As small as a 50-cent coin, with low power consumption, this chip opens up new possibilities in protecting sensitive communications and data.

2020

DSO develops Singapore’s first direct PCR COVID-19 test kit

With the formulation of a new molecular-based assay, DSO successfully developed its direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Harnessing this capability, DSO partnered with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) to jointly develop and productise RESOLUTE, Singapore’s first direct PCR COVID-19 test kit. It does not require any sample preparation and is able to complete testing in an hour as compared to conventional PCR tests that take 2.5 hours or longer.

2020

DSO develops the MINDEF FDL

The MINDEF Forward Deployment Laboratory (FDL) is the world’s first-of-its-kind containerised laboratory solution to increase diagnostic capacity during a pandemic. Together with the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and MINDEF, DSO took on frontline roles from setting up, licensing, and operations management to recruitment of manpower and training. The team also leveraged digitalisation and automation to maximise throughput and ensure accuracy of the test results.

2022

DSO celebrates its 50th Anniversary

DSO marked 50 years of defence R&D and celebrated our People, Passion, and Innovation spirit that inspired and fuelled the relentless pursuit of our critical mission as the strategic R&D partner for MINDEF and the SAF, and as an important national resource for Singapore.

Explore our 50th Anniversary commemorative website here.

For 50 years, DSO has relentlessly pursued its critical mission: to develop technological solutions that will sharpen Singapore’s defence and national security. From modest beginnings and through many challenges along the way, generations of DSO scientists and engineers dared to dream big, be bold, and be exceptional. Today, DSO has matured into a respected and well-regarded national defence R&D organisation, with multidisciplinary capabilities ranging from underwater to space.

Mr Lee Hsien Loong

Prime Minister of Singapore (2004 – 2024)