Satellite Xplorer: eyes in space for rescuers

At the end of April 2026, Singaporean Minister of Home Affairs and National Security K. Shanmugam announced an ambitious plan: the agency HTX (Home Team Science and Technology Agency) is developing the first satellite specifically for public safety needs. The satellite, codenamed Xplorer, is to weigh approximately 100 kilograms and will be launched into low Earth orbit near the equator.

Its primary task will be the detection of dangerous gas clouds, such as ammonia. Thanks to special sensors, the satellite can identify the threat before it spreads into populated areas, and enable the Singapore Civil Defence Force to respond faster and more precisely. HTX is collaborating on it with the Singapore Space Agency (Office for Space Technology and Industry).

For the ordinary reader, this means a simple thing: the satellite serves as an early warning. Similar systems are used today mainly by military forces or large space agencies such as NASA or ESA. Singapore, as a city-state with five million inhabitants, shows that even a relatively small country can adapt space technologies for civil defence.

Phoenix and NGINE: sovereign artificial intelligence

The satellite, however, is not the only novelty. HTX is building its own AI ecosystem from the ground up. A key element is the NGINE infrastructure — the first sovereign AI system of Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs built on powerful GPUs (graphics processing units). Companies ST Engineering, Google, NVIDIA and Nutanix are collaborating on its development.

Why is sovereign infrastructure important? Shanmugam warned that geopolitical tensions are changing the global technology market. “Supply chains are reconfiguring rapidly. Hardware, software and ecosystems are being disconnected. Technology is simultaneously being weaponised and creating new attack vectors,” the minister stated at the opening of the Milipol TechX Summit 2026 conference.

That is why Singapore does not want to depend exclusively on foreign cloud services. NGINE gives it control over sensitive data and over computing capacity for demanding AI models. In March 2026, HTX signed a memorandum of understanding with NVIDIA concerning further generations of this infrastructure.

At the same time, HTX is developing its own family of language models Phoenix. The Phoenix Small model is already being used by security personnel to work with complex information in a secure environment. This week (specifically during the Milipol TechX conference) the Phoenix Medium model is to be introduced, which will also handle image and document analysis and can be adapted to more advanced tasks.

HTX is collaborating on the development of Phoenix with the French company Mistral AI (mistral.ai), one of the leading European producers of open language models. The strategic partnership is intended to help push the models’ capabilities further — towards operational deployment in the field.

Humanoid robots enter service

The third pillar of Singapore’s strategy is robotics. In September 2026, HTX will open the Home Team Humanoid Robotics Centre, a specialised facility where humanoid robots will be trained for high-risk scenarios.

The robots will be taught skills in the area of hazardous materials response and fire safety. The goal is not to replace humans, but to get machines into places where human life could be endangered. Humanoid robots can, for example, penetrate contaminated spaces, measure toxin concentrations or assist in evacuation.

“Artificial intelligence does not work abstractly. It needs sensors that see and autonomous systems that act. The next step is humanoid robots,” Shanmugam explained. This approach — linking AI, satellite data and physical machines into one chain — is what distinguishes the Singaporean concept from ordinary police drones or surveillance cameras.

Cybersecurity as priority number one

Singapore is aware that every new technology brings new vulnerabilities. The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore in mid-April 2026 issued a warning concerning so-called frontier AI models — the most advanced language models capable of identifying security weaknesses and attacking systems practically immediately after their release.

According to the agency’s estimates, the time between the discovery of a flaw and its exploitation can be shortened from months to hours. That is why, alongside the development of new technologies, Singapore is testing their resilience. For the first time in history, DEF CON (defcon.org), one of the world’s most prestigious hacker conferences, is being held in Singapore, running parallel to the Milipol TechX Summit. Ethical hackers from around the world are testing intrusions into the upcoming systems here.

“By exposing weaknesses today, we strengthen systems for tomorrow,” Shanmugam said. This approach — openly testing one’s own technologies with the community — is still more of an exception than the rule in Europe.

What does this mean for the Czech Republic and Europe?

Singapore’s strategy is remarkable for its comprehensiveness. It has not merely developed a chatbot for the police or bought a few drones. It has combined space technologies, its own AI infrastructure, humanoid robotics and cybersecurity testing into a single state-controlled whole.

Europe, including the Czech Republic, has a decent foundation in some areas. The Czech Republic is a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) and has developed its own satellites, for example VZLUSAT-2. In the field of AI, however, European security forces often depend on commercial solutions from large American or Chinese companies. Singapore shows that investment in sovereign infrastructure — that is, systems over which the state has full control — can be more advantageous in the long term.

On the other hand, the European AI Act imposes far stricter rules on the use of artificial intelligence in public administration, particularly regarding biometric identification and automated decision-making. The Singaporean model is technologically ambitious, but at the same time raises questions about citizens’ privacy and how far the state can go in monitoring public space. European regulation, though sometimes criticised for slowing innovation, offers important protection in this regard.

For Czech companies and researchers, Singapore’s cooperation with the European Mistral AI may be particularly interesting. It shows that even a relatively small European player can play a key role in strategically significant global projects.