Mervyn Tan Wei Ming ( zh, , p=Chén Wèimín, s=陈尉民) is a Singaporean former major-general who served as Chief of Air Force between 2016 and 2019, being appointed from his prior role of Director of Military Intelligence and Chief Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence. He served as the chief executive of

Defence Science and Technology Agency Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) is a statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of Singapore. DSTA is responsible for performing acquisitions management, systems management, systems developme ...

between 2021 and 2024, stepping down on 15 May 2024. Tan has been appointed as Group Chief Operating Officer (Technology & Innovation) of

ST Engineering ST Engineering, is a global technology, defence and engineering group with a diverse portfolio of businesses across the aerospace, smart city, defence and public security segments. Headquartered in Singapore, the group reported a revenue of ov ...

since 1 June 2025. He had also previously served as Deputy Secretary (Technology) and Future Systems and Technology Architect at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

between 2019 and 2021. In his role as Deputy Secretary (Technology), he played an important role in developing Singapore's technology strategies and cyber capabilities and advanced the cause of capability development for the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (Singapore), Ministry of D ...

Education

Tan received the

(SAF) Overseas Training Award (Graduating) in 1992 and graduated from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

with a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...

(First Class Honours) in

Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

in 1996. He attended the United States Air Command and Staff College from 2004 to 2005 and obtained a Master in Operational Art and Science of War. He also achieved the best overall academic and research award for an international officer at the United States Air Command and Staff College. In 2010, Tan received the SAF Overseas Postgraduate Scholarship (General Development) in 2010 and obtained a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from the

MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (branded as MIT Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree progra ...

in the same year.

Military career

Tan enlisted in the

in 1990 and graduated as an

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

(RSAF) officer from the Officer Cadet School in 1991. As an operational pilot, Tan has participated in overseas exercises in Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Throughout his military career, he held various appointments, including Commanding Officer of 121 Squadron, Head of the Air Plans Department from 2008 to 2010, and Commander of Air Defence and Operations Command (ADOC) from 2012 to 2014. He served as Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) and Chief of Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) from February 2014 to February 2016. Tan succeeded Hoo Cher Mou as the Chief of Air Force on 28 March 2016. Tan was promoted to the rank of Major-General on 1 July 2016.

Awards

* Public Administration Medal (Military) (Gold), in 2017. * Public Administration Medal (Military) (Silver), in 2010. * Long Service Medal (Military), in 2016. *

Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (20 Years) Medal The Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (20 Years) Medal is a decoration awarded to a member of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) (regardless of regular or NSmen status) who has completed 20 years of continuous service. A clasp ...

* Singapore Armed Forces Long Service and Good Conduct (10 Years) Medal with 15 year clasp * Singapore_Armed_Forces_Good_Service_Medal_ribbon

Singapore Armed Forces Good Service Medal * US Legion of Merit Commander rib

United States

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(Commander Degree), in 2020, for strengthening defence relations between the United States and Singapore.

Personal life

Tan is married to Gina Yip and has one son and one daughter.

References

External links

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Mervyn Living people Singaporean people of Chinese descent Chiefs of the Republic of Singapore Air Force University of Sydney alumni MIT Sloan School of Management alumni Air Command and Staff College alumni Recipients of the Long Service Medal (Military) (Singapore) Recipients of the Pingat Pentadbiran Awam (Tentera) Recipients of the Legion of Merit 1972 births