Some of the money can be expected to go towards boosting security at military installations here, as the Singapore Armed Forces yesterday demonstrated new sensors, cameras and bomb detection equipment being used or tested.

The ministry's budget for the next financial year will be higher than the $8.2 billion budgeted for the current year.

Defence spending accounted for 29 per cent of the Budget this year and saw a 4.9-per-cent increase over the previous year, but was still below the cap, which is set at 6 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

The military has taken on additional tasks in the new security environment, to deal with chemical and biological threats.