Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

The 60th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) was commemorated in a grand scale in the country. But for the family of Squadron Leader Monath Perera, it turned out to be nightmare.

While aircraft coloured up the skies, on the ground, the household of Squadron Leader Perera would be filled with the vacuum he has left.

Squadron Leader Perera was killed on March 1 when two Kfir jets were involved in a mid air clash while training for the SLAF s 60th year commemoration.

The other pilot however escaped death.
The mid air clash had taken place in the skies above Yakkala. The SLAF said that Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama had appointed a committee headed by Air Vice Marshal Kapila Jayampathi to investigate into the causes of the accident.

Witnesses said that the aircraft had been taking part in rehearsals for two to three days before the accident. Chairman of the Attanagalla Pradeshiya Sabha Upul Mahendra Rajapaksa told The Nation that the he saw five jets taking part in rehearsals on the day of the incident.

He had also seen the wings of the two ill-fated aircraft touching each other during rehearsals. He said the accident had taken place around 9.30 am. There were five jets that were rehearsing for the event. Three were flying in front while two were at the back, Rajapaksa said.

He said that the two jets at the back were the ones that were involved in the accident. One jet was flying slightly lower than the other one. Suddenly the lower one began to go higher and in the process the wings of the two jets touched. A wing in one of the planes broke and I saw two, blue and red parachutes ejecting from the aircraft, he added.

Rajapaksa had quickly driven to the place where the planes were believed to have crashed. One of the planes had crashed in Nelligahamulla. I saw black smoke coming from the crash site.

Rajapaksa added that several houses had been damaged due to the crash. Around 10 houses were damaged. One person was injured.

In addition, Rajapaksa pointed out that damage had been caused to the environment surrounding the crash site. The trees are burnt. The land has been polluted due to the fire caused by the burning aircraft, he said.

Speaking on the incident, SLAF spokesperson Group Captain, Andrew Wijesooriya said he could not make any comments on the matter as the investigations had begun. I cannot make any comments about the incident until the investigations are completed, he said.

However he stated that all Kfir jets with the SLAF had been grounded following the accident and would remain grounded until the investigations are complete.

I cannot divulge the number of Kfir jets with the SLAF. But, they have been grounded until investigations are over, Group Captain Wijesooriya added.

Commenting on the flying areas used, Group Captain Wijesooriya said the SLAF used certain areas over land..
In the meantime, Air Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama had visited the family of Squadron Leader Monath Perera and paid his last respects.

The SLAF announced that Flight Lieutenant Monath Perera who died following the accident had been posthumously promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader with effect from March 4.

The two Kfir jets that were involved in accident belonged to the No. 10 Jet Squadron of SLAF Base in Katunayake and were taking part in a rehearsal for the SLAF 60th anniversary.

The two jets took off from SLAF Base Katunayake around 9.10 am for fly past rehearsals and crashed at 9.30 am, 6 km off Yakkala near the Kirindiwela Road. Preliminary reports indicate a possible collision as a cause for the crash of the two fighter jets which were flying in tight formation at the time of the accident, the SLAF said.

Squadron Leader Vajira Jayakody, who was the other pilot involved in the accident had received minor injuries and has been transferred to the Colombo National Hospital for observation.

The Chief of Staff of the Chengdu Regional Air Command of China, Major General Ding Laihang paid a courtesy call on the Commander of the Air Force Air Marshal Harsha Abeywickrema this morning.

Major General Ding Liahang was accompanied by Senior Colonel Jiang Lisheng, Colonel Xu Kan and Mr Han Tao - the Charge d' affairs of the Embassy of China.

Major General Ding Laihang represented General Xu Qiliang, the Commander of the People's Liberation Army Air Force of China, at the opening ceremony and parade of the SLAF's 60 Anniversary Celebrations.

We need to upgrade our air to air capabilities.

Chief of Defence Staff and Former Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonathileke

Top level Pakistani Army delegation to visit Sri Lanka

Two Sri Lankan Kfir jet fighters recently collided while practicing formation flying for the upcoming celebration of the Air Force's 60's anniversary. An autopsy of the 28 year old pilot, who failed to eject, found that the young man had suffered a heart attack. That was very unusual, but so is the Sri Lankan Air Force. Sri Lanka, having spent lavishly to recently win a two decade long civil war, is now looking to modernize its air force. New combat aircraft are being sought, with the main prospects being Russian MiG-29s and Chinese JF-17s, although second hand American F-16s are also a contender. The Sri Lankan Air Force was created in 1951, and for several decades, did little more than provide transport and recon services for the army. Then came the civil war with the Tamil minority in the 1980s. The fighting grew more extensive by the 1990s, and the air force went looking for fighter-bombers and gunships.

A decade ago, Sri Lanka received the first of eleven MiG-27 fighter-bombers. The MiGs were not only cheaper than the more capable (on paper) Israeli Kfirs they had also purchased, but the MiGs were cheaper to maintain and, because of their swing-wing design (similar to the U.S. F-14) able to hit targets more accurately at low altitudes. The MiGs were also better at avoiding, or absorbing, enemy ground fire. That's what the MiG-27 was built for. Moreover, at the 300 kilometer ranges the aircraft had to operate (flying from bases in the south to enemy targets in the far north), the Migs could carry more bombs (usually eight half ton bombs) than the Kfirs.

The 20 ton MiG-27 is a ground attack version of the MiG-23 (which was the Russian successor to the MiG-21, and influenced by the American F-4 and F-111). The MiG-27 carries a 30mm cannon (with 300 shells), and up to four tons of bombs or missiles. Sri Lanka also had a dozen Israel Kfir fighter bombers (an Israeli design based on the French Mirage 5). Israel stopped using the Kfir in the 1990s and was selling them off cheap, which was why Sri Lank got some. The Kfir is a 14 ton aircraft with two 30mm cannon (with 120 shells each), and can carry up to five tons of other weapons (at short range). Sri Lanka used the Mig-27s and Kfirs to attack LTTE rebel base camps and artillery positions. The MiG-27s proved to be decisive weapons, given their ability to get down low, survive enemy fire, and accurately deliver bombs.

Sri Lanka got MiG-27s largely because they were so cheap (about $2 million each, versus $3 million for a Kfir). Ukraine had lots of old, Cold War era, MiG-27 fighter bombers. These were well worn aircraft, with only about a thousand flight hours left on them. But the Ukrainians were willing to sell them cheap, and, as a bonus, offer inexpensive refurbishment services, that would add 2-3,000 flight hours to the aircraft's life. The first batch of seven MiG-27s (one was a trainer version) were bought between 2000-2003, for an average $1.72 million each. The aircraft performed well, even though two crashed and one was destroyed on the ground. In 2007, another four, of more recent vintage, were purchased, for $2.5 million each.

Ukraine had inherited thousands of warplanes (including hundreds of MiG-27s) in 1991, when the Soviet Union was dissolved. The dissolution deal had military equipment belonging to whatever new country the stuff was in, when the Soviet Union broken into 15 new countries (including Russia, and Ukraine). For decades, Ukraine had been the major staging area for a possible invasion of Western Europe. Thus lots of warplanes were parked there. Ukraine had no need for most of these, and there was not a big market for second hand Russian warplanes in the 1990s. But some of the better stuff was kept in decent shape, so Sri Lanka was able to get some proven combat aircraft at a fraction of what any alternatives (new or used) would cost.

But the MiG-27s and Kfirs are really worn out now, due to heavy use during the last few years of the civil war, and the air force wants to retire as soon as possible and replace them with MiG-29s and helicopter gunships.

The popularity of the MiG-29 is partly the result of Sri Lanka almost buying some of these aircraft several years ago. Back then, the government was negotiating the purchase of five MiG-29 jet fighters, for about $15 million each. Some legislators believed this purchase involved bribes, although the price is a bit below what MiG-29s were going for at the time. The MiG-29 was sought because its radar could pick up small aircraft flying close to the ground. This was the kind of air force the LTTE rebels were using, and the MiG-29 was the kind of aircraft that could deal with this threat. The war ended (in early 2009) before a MiG-29 purchase could be made. There is interest in the JF-17 because it is a co-production of Pakistan and China, two countries that were useful in selling weapons to the government during the civil war. The JF-17 is being offered for about $15 million. While used F-16s can be had for less, the United States was less helpful to the government during the civil war, not wanting to get involved in a messy (as civil wars tend to be) conflict.

Sri Lanka really doesn't need modern jet fighter-bombers, as they are a tiny island with 20 million people, off the southern tip of India (population one billion). But there is fear that the civil war might resume, and fear in general, the kind of fear that attracts jet fighter salesmen. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has been buying Russian helicopters, which are always useful.

The Ministry of Defence is to hold an international conference with the objective of sharing the experience gained by the Sri Lankan Army in the process of defeating terrorism.

A website in this regard was launched under the auspices of Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya this evening. The address of the website is triple w w w defseminar dot lk. The conference will be held with the participation of Defence officials from 54 countries. The website includes all the information related to the conference and viewers will be able to witness it through the live streaming on the web.

A senior military official said Monday, March 7, 2011, Japan is on track to test a domestically designed prototype stealth fighter in three years.

Japan is looking to join the United States, China and Russia with a stealth fighter that senior Japanese air force officials say can be ready for a prototype test flight in just three years, significantly upping the ante in the intensifying battle for air superiority in the Pacific.

The prototype will likely be able to fly in 2014, Lt. Gen. Hideyuki Yoshioka, director of air systems development at Japan s Ministry of Defense, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

He said Japan has put 39 billion yen ($473 million) into the project since 2009, after it became clear the United States was not likely to sell it the F-22 'Raptor' - America s most advanced fighter jet - because of a congressional export ban.

'We are two years into the project, and we are on schedule,' Yoshioka said Monday.

Yoshioka stressed that a successful test flight of the prototype, dubbed 'Shinshin,' or 'Spirit,' does not mean Japan will immediately start producing stealth aircraft. The prototype is designed to test advanced technologies, and if it is successful the government will decide in 2016 how to proceed.

Japan is feeling the pressure of a regional dogfight over fighter superiority.

'If the countries surrounding Japan have stealth capabilities, Japan will need to develop those capabilities itself to ensure our own defense,' said Col. Yoshikazu Takizawa of the Defense Ministry s Technical Research and Development Institute.

Japan relies to a large degree for its defense on its alliance with the United States, which has a significant number of fighters and other aircraft, along with some 50,000 troops, stationed around the Japanese archipelago.

But that alliance, and Japan s relatively deep pockets, did not prove convincing enough for Tokyo to get the coveted F-22. Congress repeatedly squashed the idea due to fears that the F-22 contained too much secret technology to share with even Washingtonclosest friends.

'Japan wanted the F-22, but Congress didn t agree to that,' Yoshioka said. 'We realized that it was important for us to develop our domestic capabilities.'

China and Russia, meanwhile, have made great strides toward perfecting advanced stealth fighters that could rival the F-22, out-fly Japan s aircraft and - coupled with other rapid advances now under way, particularly by China s navy - tip the regional balance of power.

China surprised experts when it sent a stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20, up for a test flight in January during a high-profile visit to Beijing by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The J-20 resembles the F-22 in many respects and has caused a great deal of consternation among U.S. and Japanese military planners because its development appears to be going faster than forecast. Its first flight came amid rising nervousness over Beijing s heavy defense spending, overall military modernization and increasingly assertive stance on territorial issues.

Prime Minister D.M Jayaratne revealed in Parliament today that there are three LTTE secret training centres in Tamil Nadu. He also said that in one training centre, the trainees are given an exclusive training on VIP assassinations.