| Don’t
mess with him — he’s into guns |
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Koh Weng Kin is into guns — artillery
guns to be precise. Early this year, this programme
manager from the Defence Science & Technology
Agency (DSTA) made news when a project he was in
charge of — the first locally developed heavy
artillery gun — proved its mettle as it went
into action
The Primus is the most technologically complex product
designed for Singapore’s Army. It is a 155-millimetre
self-propelled artillery gun that moves like a tank.
It has a 30- kilometre range, which means it can
hit a target as far as the distance between Changi
and Jurong.
As the programme manager for Primus, Weng Kin had
to oversee every aspect of the work. And that was
certainly no mean feat.
He first started working on the Primus programme
in 1996. From the start, a major challenge his team
encountered was designing a platform that could
satisfy all of the Singapore Armed Forces’
(SAF) required specifications and operational needs.
Although the core team is small, they leveraged
on expertise from other divisions such as communications
and command and control.
Moreover, the project was extensive and elaborate.
The many stages and processes included research
and conceptualisation, working out details of the
specific requirements, design review, prototype
development, systems integration, developmental
tests and evaluation, extensive live firing trials,
final design review and production.
Due to the complexity of the programme, the team
performed detailed assessment and extensive testing.
Hence, it took the team six years from conceptualisation
to delivery of the Primus. But at the end of the
day, it was worth all the hard work.
Said Weng Kin, “When the Army commissioned
the Primus, we felt a great sense of achievement
in delivering a high-tech solution that will add
to the firearms of our soldiers.”
Besides the Primus, Weng Kin has introduced two
other systems to the military. His first project
was a naval gun mounted on the Navy’s missile
corvette. The second was another artillery gun —
a 105-millimetre howitzer.
While the technical aspects of his work can be demanding,
Weng Kin finds dealing with different groups of
people even more challenging. He explained: “Engineers
are basically strong-willed people, so it’s
not easy to get them to work together.
“Contractors are another category of people,
and there’s also the customer. We play a ‘bridging
role’ between the two extremes. One will ask
for the sky, the other will give you the land. We
have to make sure we deliver cost-effective solutions
that meet the operational requirements of the SAF.”
Besides managing people, Weng Kin also conducts
courses for new engineers and looks into their training
needs and career development.
“I truly love my job!”
said Weng Kin, who has been with the Armament Systems
Division since 1988.
Indeed, few people can say that they make guns for
a living. But for Weng Kin, the fulfilment he derives
from his work is greater that the thrill of developing
such a fine product.
He shared, “I like the element of working
on something that contributes to national defence.
It may sound cliché to some, but the systems
we deliver are going to be used by many batches
of NSFs in the next 20 years. I find that inspiring
and satisfying!”
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