Advanced Combat Man System

The Advanced Combat Man System (ACMS) is part of the Singapore Armed Forces's (SAF) move to integrate into 3G to progressively provide tactical units with network capabilities, including C4I capabilities in the field. The project costs about $SGD 100 Million to maintain.

The head of the ACMS project is Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Toh Yong Leng. According to him, ACMS was created to address concern of urban warfare operations, especially "key challenges in this environment were survivability, situational awareness (SA) and the avoidance of civilian casualties and collateral damage."

In a future deployment, the section commander and two commanding officers are to be equipped with the ACMS system as a part of honing urban operation capabilities.

History
The ACMS was first developed in 1998 as a joint project by the Singaporean Army and by the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) alongside ST Electronics and ST Kinetics under a Technology Exploration and Demonstration initiative in order to assess the possibility of simplifying capability and integration issues. It was succeeded in 2002 with a three-year Technology Consolidation and Development effort. Trials took place in 2006 with funding allocated to the Integrated Concept Development and Demonstration stage, which permitted the acquisition of 60 ACMS sets and ACMS sets and two CCIS equipped AFV platforms. Further trails took place in 2008 when Singaporean soldiers conducted live exercises at the Murai Urban Training Facility.

ST Electronics was chosen to be the main contractor responsible for the eventual production of the ACMS. Research and development of the ACMS was completed by 2012. Field tests began in January and March 2010 when two Singaporean Army battalions were equipped with ACMS gear.

Design


The challenge with the creation of ACMS was the stature of the average Singaporean soldier, considering that they are smaller than other races. The three modular variants consist of the Basic Fighting System, which is focused on fighting capabilities. The Full Fighting System equips commanders on the field, but has significant C2 capabilities. The Hand Held System which works with the Full Fighting System, which is carried by a commander’s aide, providing notebook hosted capabilities, which in trials used a Panasonic Toughbook, for use in stationary mission planning tasks, where greater screen size is necessary and a more complex input device can be used.

The main weapon used under the ACMS is the SAR 21's Modular Mounting System variant. For communications, ACMS uses Selex Soldier Personal Radio systems with a noise reduction system to protect the hearing of soldiers.

In various trials done initially, the helmet mounted display was cited to be a hindrance in aiming and moving. Currently, alternatives are being studied, which includes see through HMDs and membrane displays.

Components
The components of the ACMS consist of Soldier Computer, Weapon, Head Mount Display, Power, Communications and Navigation sub-systems. An integrated Load Bearing Vest and a hydration bladder are also included, the former being outfitted with armored plates.

ACMS
The first variants of the ACMS system, it had a total weight of 25 kilograms. The weight proved to be bothersome since it forced wearers to move less than one kilometer in the field. A 2002 revision reduced the weight to 12.5 kilograms. Currently, ACMS includes a soldier computer subsystem, including a wearable computer and power pack, the communications subsystem supporting wireless radio and data connectivity through mesh networking, full color OLED based helmet mounted display and active noise diction hearing protection, indoor and outdoor navigation system with GPS support, and weapon-mounted camera with an ITL MARS reflex sight.

ACMS Lite
Currently undergoing development, the ACMS Lite has latest ARM processor and mobile communications technology to enhance networking and situational awareness capability. The ACMS Lite also includes a smartphone portable device providing mesh-networking communications, processing and display of situational awareness and support of C2 applications. It will also include fabric cabling integrated into the vest, offering more reliable and lightweight, low power solution. It's designed for use by team leaders and their members.