Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

In combination with its S-17VG sighting system the GSh-6-30 is a very accurate weapon. You can fire the cannon in manual and automatic modes. In manual mode - 'approximate' targeting is done using the fixed grid on the S-17VG sight. In automatic aiming mode - the PrNK-23 integrated nav/attack system is used, it gives the necessary corrections and lead on an S-17VG sight together with information about the target and effective firing range. When detonating on impact with the ground, the shell fragments can scatter up to 200 metres in all directions. In short 40-round bursts, lasting a fraction of a second, the gun sends to the target an 'effective load' of about 20 kg at extremely high velocity.

This cannon is lethal when used in close quarter combat - a MiG-27M flying at round 300-500 ft can with great ease and accuracy engage boats, troop transports, mortar locations and combat troops.

The downside is the limited quantity of ammunition available on the aircraft - at best the aircraft is capable of 6 or 8 low-level passes. Since the aircraft always operate in pairs, with a well synchronised low-level attack pass the aircrafts are capable of inundating a target with enough firepower to effectively obliterate a large area.

An important point that has to be stressed again and again is that SLAF operations in Sri Lankan rarely used about a 1/3 or the aircrafts actual capabilities. In short this aircraft has much more to offer and deliver .. watch and wait.

As far as I know the SLAF has never used any FAM's in the northern theatre.. this situation might change in the future..



The information I had at the time indicated that the weapon was used on a cluster of armed thamil tiger reinforcements .. the weapon successfully achieved its mission objective.. the results were quite spectacular..

However I do not think this singular event had an immediate direct effect on the eventual outcome of the operation.. but it and other successive strikes had a cumulative effect in speeding up the final result.

correct.. however in most operational circumstances I've been informed that the SLAF has about 3 or 4 combat ready Kfir C.2's + C.7's at any given time and, about 4 MiG's from the 6 it had in 2000.

So on any given day during 2000 the SLAF had from about 6-8 combat ready aircraft.

This would most probably be the same today.



The information I had at the time suggested that the Aircraft were pending intermediate level repairs .. it appears this has now changed to a full blown depot level overhaul .. From what I can tell the airframes need some minor structural repairs.. this overhaul should be mainly for the engines and the PrNK-23 integrated nav/attack system. Might take another couple of months before these aircraft return to service.

There is no upgrade planned for any of the aircrafts systems that I know of..



The C.2's will stay on along with the 2 x C.7's .. I believe the SLAF will maintain this Hi Lo mix till this conflict reaches a conclusion.



This is quite a broad topic, but in a nutshell:

The aircraft is stripped of its primary/secondary and tertiary systems. The wings/Fin and tailplane are disconnected from the fuselage. These primary structures are inspected for an assortment of damage mechanisms, stress fractures, material fatigue, corrosion .. etc. If any of the structural components in these primary structures need replacing this is done.

If the upgrade is purely a systems upgrade - the new systems are included and the aircraft reassembled.

If the upgrade requires a new power-plant, further enhancements need to be made to flight control software and other related systems.

The list goes on depending on the complexity of the upgrade. However an upgrade will not usually entail any major modifications to the actual design. Completely redesigned wings/fin are very rare. For example the upgrade from Kfir C.1 to C.2 was a major programme that entailed detailed wind tunnel tests to examine the effect of the new canards amongst others.

If you want more detail - I will specifically write a separate addendum to this brief..



The IAI Lahav facility in Israel.



*Yes.
*A couple of months (around 5-6).
*Sri Lanka does not have the infrastructure or the experience to carry this out .. again this is quite a broad subject, if you want more detail let me know.
*It will roughly cost around $2 million - depends on what the aircraft is going to be used for. The SLAF currently doesn't use the C.7 any differently to the C.2. In my estimation this upgrade will not be necessary considering that the SLAF has MiG-27M's.

Hope this helps.

I will answer this question the best way I can:

From what I know the SLAF did locally manufacture the bomb bodies - The bomb body is the casing containing the explosive material - for the Mk81 and Mk82 in Sri Lanka. The tail kits and the fuzing mechanism's were imported from what I can remember. The complete unit was assembled in Sri Lanka. I am not aware of the current state of this production line.

I haven't got much information about the 57mm rockets.

To be honest my intel on local munitions manufacture is rather limited. I will try and find out more on a later date and get back to you in the new year :o)



There are no restrictions in place for the sale of Paveway kits to Sri Lanka. If and when the SLAF does acquire this kit - then yes it can be mounted on any locally manufactured to specification Mk81 or Mk82.



The FAB-500 and the KAB-500 are two completely different munition types. The KAB-500 is not a kit, it's a complete system. Basically you cannot upgrade a FAB-500 to a KAB-500, apart from the similar sounding designations these are two completely different weapons.



Again .. I do not have this information at hand at this moment .. will have to get back to you on this.

Hope this helps.

To answer this I need to explain the mechanics of a munition explosion upon ground impact.

The Blast is caused by tremendous dynamic overpressures generated by the detonation of a high explosive. Complete (high order) detonation of high-explosives can generate pressures up to 700 tons per square inch and temperatures in the range of 3,000 to 4,500 degC prior to bomb case fragmentation.

Approximately half of the total energy generated will be used in swelling the bomb casing to 1.5 times its normal size prior to fragmenting and then imparting velocity to those fragments. The remainder of this energy is expended in compression of the air surrounding the bomb and is responsible for the blast effect. This effect is most desirable for attacking walls, collapsing roofs, and destroying or damaging machinery. The effect of blast on personnel is confined to a relatively short distance (110 feet for a 2000 lb bomb).

For surface targets blast is maximized by using a general purpose bomb with an instantaneous fuzing system that will produce a surface burst with little or no confinement of the overpressures generated by excessive burial. For buildings or bunkers the use of a delayed fuzing system allows the blast to occur within the structure maximizing the damage caused by the explosion.

Fragmentation is caused by the break-up of the weapon casing upon detonation. Fragments of a bomb case can achieve velocities from 3,000 to 11,000 ft/sec depending on the type of bomb (GP bomb fragments have velocities of 5,000 to 9,000 ft/sec). Fragmentation is effective against troops, vehicles, aircraft and other soft targets.

The fragmentation effects generated from the detonation of a high-explosive bomb have greater effective range than blast, usually up to approximately 2000-3000 feet regardless of bomb size.

So in short - yes it is possible for fragments of a Mk-83 to travel around 500m in an open area explosion. However, in an environment that has a lot of dense foliage you rarely get shrapnel travelling that far, maybe around 200m.

Hope this helps.

The aircraft are MiG-27M's ..

Note - these aircraft are actually MiG-23BM (later MiG-27) Flogger-D aircraft upgraded to the M standard, Flogger-J - the soviet designation is MiG-27D Flogger-J. However, these aircraft are commonly referred to as MiG-27M Flogger-J's. Externally and in terms of the major offensive/defensive systems the MiG-27D and MiG-27M are indistinguishable. However one difference is their inertial navigation systems - the MiG-27Ms assembled at the Ulan Ude site use the RSBN 'course' inertial navigation system whilst the MiG-27D's from the Irkutsk site upgraded to the M standard use the RSDN land inertial navigation system. For all intents and purposes they are the same aircraft, they have the same capabilities.

Hope this helps.