Fighter Jets and Feature Flags: Digital Transformation of Singapore’s Air Force Through Agile Product Management

Set in March 2025, this case explores how modern product management practices enabled rapid, iterative software development in a traditionally rigid environment. Tay Gek Peng, Chief Data Officer of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), led the establishment of RSAF Agile Innovation Digital (RAiD), a specialised unit created to drive innovation, resource optimisation and in-house software development capabilities.

RAiD aimed to challenge the rigid, hierarchical culture of the military by adopting start-up practices, and learning industry best practices. Central to the digital transformation is Project 300X, an initiative designed to accelerate software release cycles, and QualiFly, a digital platform developed to streamline the training and qualification process for Air Force Engineers (AFEs).

The case examines the challenges faced by the RSAF, such as an ageing population, manpower shortages, and slow software deployment, and highlights how RAiD addressed these issues by adopting modern product management techniques.

This case may be used for graduate, postgraduate and executive education classes. Learning objectives for the students are to understand the challenges of executing digital transformation, learn the principles and practices of agile product management, analyse how digital solutions can improve operational efficiency, examine the role of product thinking in digital transformation initiatives and discuss the balance between security measures and rapid deployment in software development lifecycles.

Inspection copies and teaching notes are available for university faculty. To receive an inspection copy and teaching note, please email cmpshop@smu.edu.sg with your registered faculty email ID and a link to your contact information on the faculty directory at your university as verification. An inspection copy and teaching note will then be sent to your faculty email account.

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·      Teaching Note (SMU-25-0025)

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·      The Case (SMU-25-0025)

·      Teaching Note (SMU-25-0025)