NUS and MINDEF have been engaged in active and fruitful research collaborations since mid-1980. The collaborations were mainly on project basis, and had a disadvantage that on the end of the project, the research team tends to disperse. Hence, Temasek Laboratories was established, to maintain a core research capability in selected areas of defence science and technology with long term requirements.

On 6 September, 2000, Temasek Laboratories was launched, as a National University of Singapore research institute. Officiating the launch was Dr. Tony Tan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence. In his keynote address, Dr. Tan expressed his wish for Temasek Laboratories to evolve into a "third pillar" of national defence technology infrastructure, complementing DSO National Laboratories and the local defence industry in harnessing the potential of science and technology to enhance the security and defence of Singapore.

Temasek Laboratories also assists Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) in coordinating and promoting NUS-MINDEF research collaborations nowadays.

Our mission is to conduct research into selected areas of science and technology critical to Singapore's requirements, such as aeronautical sciences, cognitive science, electromagnetics, information security, nonlinear dynamics and signal processing.