Agreed or they could have purchased SF.260 from Italy





..where they do have previous expertise on the aircraft or MFI 17 Mushshak from Pakistan or the Swiss Pilatus PC 7

The Wiki article states the SLAF used to operate SF 360!

Just more proof of how corrupt things have become.

The SF 260 were retired/not operational since early 2000's

Yes they do have experience on the aircraft. could have purchased the new ones with glass cockpits rather than some junks

Italian AF are replacing old SF260 with new models

I remember SLAF actually powered up and flew the SF260 (actually 2 of them) in 2011 for the 60th Anniversary Fly past.

I'm hearing about another corrupt deal involving C-130s.

Hope this is stopped before it goes ahead.

I think this is regarding the overhauling/repairing of SCH-3302/ Ex. CR-880, the second C-130 in the SLAF fleet. It's been in the main hangar of SLAF Katunayake sitting there for ages with half-paint work and no prop blades.

Rumours stated that it will be sent into flying condition soon, as it was used as spare parts for the currently operating CR-880.

SLAF to venture into aircraft production.

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) will venture into aircraft production for the first time, Air Force Commander Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy said. He said technical assessment studies were now underway towards this end.

The Air Force Chief was speaking to the media after attending a two day pinkama at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy on October 22 and 23 to commemorate Air Force personnel who sacrificed their lives in the defence of the motherland and to bless members of their families.
The pinkama was organised by the Air Force Welfare directorate.

He said during the first stage the air force would pay attention towards the manufacture of light aircraft. The necessary locations for the manufacturing plants and arranging the necessary environment was now being done under the guidence of the Defence Secretary. However, while undertaking manufacture of air craft locally the Air Force would continue to import modern sophisticated aircraft to meet its requirements.

Copied From Daily News & Mawbima News Papers - 24 Oct 2017.

With what money and how are they planning to do this?

The 13th of June 2014 marked the last flight of MI-24 Attack Helicopters and its last ground run was performed on the 21st of May 2015 respectively. With the rising requirement of maintaining the competence and hands on skills of the technical crew, the squadron decided to perform the ground runs on MI-24.

The decision to perform ground runs was taken after a series of comprehensive studies on each and every system of the helicopter while undergoing major servicing. As the final outcome of the tireless effort of the squadron, the squadron was able to achieve an enormous task in launching a successful ground run on the 17th of December 2018.

The No 3 Maritime Squadron was reestablished today, 11 Jan 2019, when it’s new facilities were declared open by the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy at the SLAF Academy China Bay.

The Chief of Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sumangala Dias, Members of the Air Force Board of Management, the Commandant of the Air Force Academy, officers and airmen were present for the occasion. Following this, Air Surveillance Brevets were awarded to two officers who had completed the training and fulfilled the required flying with more than 100 flying hours. The officers who received their Air Surveillance Brevets are;
Wing Commander KC Serasinghe
Flight Lieutenant MDJ Abeysiriwardhana

The No 3 Maritime Squadron was initially established in December 1971 at SLAF Academy China Bay by the then Air Force Commander AVM PH Mendis. The squadron logo featured the “Red-wattled Lapwing (Kirala),” to indicate the role of the squadron, of providing early warning.

Equipped with the De Havilland Dove, the squadron was tasked with Dawn to Dusk patrols of the Eastern Coast, from Point Pedro to Galle, as a deterrent to possible arms smuggling, a need felt during the 1971 insurgency.

The squadron shifted to SLAF Base Katunayake with the addition of Cessna 337 aircraft to its inventory and again relocated to SLAF Base China Bay in the year 1988 to conduct surveillance operations against the LTTE. With the depletion of its fleet, the squadron became non-operational in the year 1993.

As the need for maritime surveillance began to be felt ever strongly, the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy set in motion the process of re-establishment of the No 3 Maritime Squadron which saw its culmination today. The Beech King Air B200 and Harbin Y-12 Aircraft have been allocated to conducted Maritime Surveillance in order to safeguard the seas of Sri Lanka.






Is this a precursor to buying the P3-Orion

Are they going to put it back to flying condition?

I do hope to see them flying again but since the aircraft are in reserve they will only be put into operation if their "services" are needed (hopefully never). They will carry out these routine runs every few years so that if they need to be put back into operation they have the expertise to do it and to do it fast.

India is hoping to transfer a Dornier reconnaissance aircraft to Sri Lanka in a bid to boost defence collaboration between the two countries, Swarajya news reported yesterday quoting Times Now.

It said the move follows the recent conclusion of a joint military exercise between the two countries.

An airforce Y12 has crashed in Haputale, killing 04 people.