The wing that saved the nation

By Dhaneshi YATAWARA

Their eagle eyes watched every movement of the enemy. Be it the unmanned surveillance aircraft or the beech-craft with the team of battle hardened officers and airmen, they became sharp for their flying fighter aircraft and to Sri Lanka Army’s ground troops. They became the warriors of the Sri Lanka Air Force defeating the world’s most ruthless terrorist organisation.

The decision taken by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to strengthen the Air Force gave them confidence perform the best of their skills in the air and on the ground. The Air Force was thrust into attack and was stretched to its limit to cope during the unrest in the Northern and the Eastern areas of the island. They transported the injured and looked into their requirements playing a pivotal role in the fight against terrorism.

Air sorties carried out by the SLAF fighter jets, more than 400 during the Eastern and the Northern conflict, evidently proved the high level of professionalism, accuracy and precise targeting skills of this valiant group of men.

Under the Command of the Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke, Commander of the SLAF, the secret of the success is the unbeatable teamwork. The vision of its great leader and his innovative and correct thinking made the SLAF run in this momentum. For the Air Force protecting the motherland is the first priority.

An Air Force depends very much on its technology. When it comes to strategies, skills of the people become an important factor. The SLAF independently manoeuvred the surveillance according to the security requirements. The beech-craft and the UAVs were on surveillance for 6-7 hours at a stretch. Whenever, there was an emergency call from the Army or the Navy they were ready to provide assistance without any delay.

The MI24 aircraft squadron provided support for the advancing troops to break the enemy line. The MiG, Kfir and F7 squadrons caused damage to the LTTE’s Sea Tiger bases and other build ups plus the heavy gun positions. This definitely weakened the LTTE’s fire power to a great extent. Their operations were a typical. The outside world hear only the results not the damage or how it attacked the enemy. The hardcore fighters behind the scene and their stories of bravery hardly come into limelight. What matters most is the job done well. If the mission fails, ultimate consequence would be nothing else but death as there is no escape if the aircraft or the pilot gets hit by enemy attacks.

The Kfirs with their formidable firepower and accuracy were able to destroy and neutralise the strong strategic locations and artillery positions of the LTTE. To be a Kfir pilot is really laborious. From basic pilot training to the advanced and then MiGs will give the green light for a SLAF pilot to handle a Kfir. It requires high expertise to control and maintain this “Lion Cub”. Pilots are fired upon most of the time when they carry out their missions. Lots of hardships are braved by them solely due to their understanding of the need of the hour. With the versatile nature of the aircraft and the expertise of the pilots the Kfir squadron will have a major role to play in any situation.

The battle tank of the Air Force, the MI24 helicopter squadron, played a crucial role in breaking enemy lines and supporting the rapidly advancing ground troops. Their duty is to break the LTTE strength and power directly penetrating into the enemy terrains. They crossed the enemy line into LTTE area. When a helicopter is flying low it does not move fast and become an easy target to the enemy. The strength of the MI-24 its massive fire power and its launching capability within a short period of time terrorizing the enemy. The pilots of the MI-24 squadron carried out attacks in all the frontlines in a day and broke positions of the entire enemy line. Until the LTTE were extremely cornered MI-24s continuously faced severe hits from the enemy on each mission.

The MiG-27 is well-known for its skills in launching attacks. Though their counterparts in many advanced countries are reluctant to undertake such risks. MiGs served as the best weapon for surprise attacks. The MIG squadron is the first to start night time flying. According to aircraft experts of the SLAF, the MiG-27 had better technology to carry out night time flying. The SLAF started their night time flying way ahead of the so-called LTTE air capability. According to experts, before the MIG-27 came into operation the fighter jets had to orbit around the target making their operation obvious to the LTTE cadres who went into hiding escaping the attack. With its capability to attack at low level, the MiGs undertook successful missions both independently and jointly. The MiGs have the capability to carry more ammunition and explosives and still attack the targets successfully and return safely.

MiGs-27 played a crucial part in destroying the LTTE sea power in the seas off Mullaitivu. The small attack craft of the LTTE targeted the Sri Lanka Navy boats on patrol and vanished into their hideouts. The surveillance provided by the UAVs and the beech-craft helped identify the Farah III ship’s wreckage as the LTTE hideout.

On November 2, 2007 the Air Force made a historic attack creating a turning point in the Eelam War IV. A Kfir and a MiG-27 aimed at a prime target of the LTTE, its Political Wing Leader S. P. Thamilselvan. This was a severe blow to the LTTE which became a turning point in their downfall. This crucial attack made history in the two fighter jet squadrons.

Purchased first in 1991 from China the F7 squadron started its mission mainly as an air interceptor with the F7 BS type of aircraft. This has the capacity of ground attacks. The turning point for the squadron was the first LTTE air attack on March 26, 2007. The Air Force was equipped with the F7 GS - the type with air to air interceptor capabilities. Their basic duty was to destroy the enemy aircraft. This was a unique situation for the Air Force since nowhere in the world any other Air Force had to face this type of enemy threat from air. Their first success was destroying LTTE aircraft over Iranapalai. They had to fly like LTTE air craft in pitch dark and as low as 500 metres above the ground. It needed great expertise and fortunately the Air Force had pilots of that capacity.

The F7 has the capability to scan, detect an unidentified aircraft and to guide it to the nearest air field if it responds positively. If it does not obey and move towards a specific target the F7s launch the attack.

The F7, on many occasions have supported the Army as well as the Navy during their operations.

Saving soldiers and civilians

Be it in the middle of the night or during a stormy weather the Bell 212 squadron keep themselves ready for casualty or troop evacuations or for transportation of troops. Bell 212s are accompanied by the MI24 helicopters during the evacuation missions when the Army troops were trapped inside enemy terrain. This is the squadron which was involved in evacuating a Sri Lanka Army Special Forces Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol from Oddusudan general area where Major Lalith Jayasinghe was killed during their mission. Exceeding 5,000 flying hours and lifting and transporting tons of cargo and thousands of injured soldiers, the MI 17 has made an outstanding job in silent manner.

Troop movements, casualty transportation and moving Army’s Air Mobile brigades increased immensely during the recent operations and it was their duty to meet the demand. It was crucial. To visualize the gravity of their responsibility their first mission in this Wanni operation would be adequate. In it the squadron had to move 500 officers and soldiers of the Army’s Air Mobile Brigade using six MI 17 helicopters where one could only carry 30 fully equipped personnel. Professionalism of pilots, including the capabilities of the technicians perform the tough job throughout the day without facing any threats from the enemy.

Not just technology

It is the responsibility of the technicians to ensure that a pilot could take off and return safely after successfully fulfilling his mission.

They work round the clock to keep the engines running. The technical staff keeps the aircraft ready for the mission. It needs continuous work from these engineers and technicians during tight operations and when an emergency call comes the pilot has to move in a few minutes and the time left for the technician is counted in seconds. Adhering to the norms and conditions of maintaining and servicing an aircraft, which are of the international level, meeting the demand from the need of the hour was no easy task. At times to repair a damaged aircraft these engineers and technicians work 3-4 days continuously.

In operations, precision doesn’t rely on the technology alone. The eyes and brains controlling the machine have a greater commitment. The machine can only guide the pilot with correct data input. Accuracy of the target greatly depends on the expertise of the man behind the machine - the pilot. Every mission was equally daring for them. Be it either close air support, dropping bombs on targets causing maximum attrition to the enemy or evacuating injured Army personnel, they were clear targets of the enemy. The great warriors of the Sri Lanka Air Force were not ready to compromise the sovereignty of the country and their wings will protect the country and its people for ever.