SLAF to fly higher

By Ranil WIJAYAPALA

The Sri Lanka Air Force which was born as Royal Ceylon Air Force on March 2, 1951, with a fleet of less than 10 aircraft and 1,400 airmen and officers has today grown into a dynamic and experienced Air Force when it is about to complete its 60 years in existence as the Sri Lanka Air Force.

A man who hails from a family born to pilot the Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonatileke who is also the Acting Chief of Defence Staff recalls how this tiny Air Force which began with just 1,500 officers and other rankers developed into an Air Force with more than 1,500 officers and 35,000 other rankers.

"Now we cannot call it a small Air Force", Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonatilleke said while speaking to a group of journalists at the "Air House" to elaborate on the 60th anniversary celebrations of the SLAF on March 2 with much grandeur by 1,200 personnel both officers and other rankers who will hold a massive parade.

Air Chief Marshal Goonatilleke joined the Air Force following in his father, Air Chief Marshal Harry Goonatileke's footsteps and from 1978, had seen how SLAF had developed gradually to take on the most ruthless terror outfit in the world.

"Today we have more than 110 aircraft, more than 35,000 personnel of which 1,500 are officers and we are a well experienced Air Force despite the fact of not having state-of-the-art aircraft and technology", he says.

It was after the step by step development that had taken place, that the SLAF had achieved this level. The insurgencies faced by the country in 1970s and the LTTE threat that emerged in 1982 were the main factors for the SLAF to think of improving its fighting capabilities.

"It was after 1986 that we really started improving our fighter capabilities and it was 1990 when we first purchased the fighter jet, he says.

After that, the SLAF continued to purchase aircraft and equipment to neutralise the air threat posed by the LTTE, through their primitive low flying aircraft which created a fear psychosis among the public in the South during the latter part of the humanitarian operation.

"We were able to destroy three of their aircraft and finally neutralize the entire air threat from them", the Air Force Commander says.

"After fighting a three decades long war against the LTTE our pilots are well experienced and they could take precise and accurate targets under difficult circumstances. They adjusted themselves to fly during nights as well as daytime. They fly at low level and at high level to take on the targets. We are a well advanced and experienced Air Force in the world and have come a long way during its 60 year history", the Air Force Commander says.

"The Sri Lanka Air Force learnt so many things during the war. When we were fighting against terrorists we have to fight them in an environment where civilians were present. We had to fight a conventional warfare also at a certain level. But by fighting in a restricted environment in an effective manner the three Armed Forces gained a lot of experience", he added.

"We are ready to share that experience with other Air Force units in the world", he offered.

But after that glorious victory achieved by the Security Forces against the LTTE under the correct political leadership given by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the guidance given by Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Air Force Commander says that it has to be prepared to face any eventuality in the future too.

Facing disaster situation, fire fighting activities, rescue and life saving missions are part of the work the SLAF has to fulfil in its peace- time role.

"We should train our officers, pilots and airmen to face these situations. We should prepare ourself to reach the places where others cannot reach during calamities", he says, explaining the role the SLAF had to play during the recent flood situation. "We also have to be prepared for air surveillance in our seas as we are conducting oil explorations to find mineral and other resources", he says.

He says though the operational commitment of the SLAF had reduced drastically, the flying time of their aircraft has gone up tremendously as they are expanding its commercial flying through Helitours.

"During the past one year and two months we have earned more than Rs. 240 million for the Government with a 40 per cent of profits", the Commander says.

The SLAF is flying to Trincomalee, Kankesanthurai and Ampara levying reasonable fares enabling businessmen and tourists to reach their desired destinations and return to Colombo.

"We are planning to expand these services to cover the entire island very soon and the aircraft purchased from China will arrive soon," he added.

Whilst explaining the innovations and researches conducted by the SLAF Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonatileka says that the Research and Development unit is now in the process of manufacturing an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

"During the last stages of war we realised that as Sri Lankans we could do many things and innovations, if we could gather all these forces together. The Sri Lanka Air Force also established a Research and Development unit and we encouraged the officers and the other rankers to come out with their innovations. They had the knowledge and they had to interpret that knowledge into products", he says.

"They came out with many things like UAV which can be used during peacetime and wartime alike. We are developing a structure and make necessary adjustments after testing it in the air. We are now in the electronic stage. In the near future we expect to launch this as complete product", he says."Like that project we are going to introduce many other projects in the future. We have manufactured a number of testing equipment. When we remove some parts of the aircraft we had to send them abroad for testing. It is a very expensive process. So our people have manufactured those testing benches making use of the available resources. We have saved a lot of foreign exchange from such research and development projects", he says.

"I am confident that we will be able to even produce an aircraft in Sri Lanka by making use of our local expertise", the Commander says.

The Air Force Commander says that the Air Force is also planning to make use of the LTTE airstrips in Iranamadu and Mullaitivu for air operations very soon.

"At Iranamadu and Mullaitivu they had their biggest airstrips. As those airstrips were there we established two air bases in Iranamadu and Mullaitivu. In the future we are going to start flights making use of those airstrips after further development, the Air Force Commander says.

Commenting on whether there is any idea to downsize the Sri Lanka Air Force as their operational commitment is already over now, the Air Force Commander says the Air Force should be airborne everyday.

"We have to be in the air every day. We can't downsize it. The only reduction in our flying hours is only from the fighter jets and fighter aircraft. The other flights are operating as usual.

Sometimes, the other aircraft are flying more hours for commercial purposes compared to the flying hours they had during the conflict", he says. "The sixtieth anniversary is only a milestone we are just passing. We have to think of the future of the Air Force. We should train our pilots properly enabling them to work with the latest technology. At the same time we have to work towards improving the national security to face any situation though we have won the war against LTTE terrorism", Air Marshal Goonatileka says explaining the future plans of the SLAF.

We are making plans considering threats that we may have to face in the future. But I don't think there would be any threat for the country in the future. But we have to face if there is any", he says.

"We have to improve our air-to-air fighting capability. We started improving our air to air fighting capability only after the emergence of LTTE air threat. That is to protect our air space", the Air Force Commander says.

Commenting on the 60th anniversary celebrations the Air Force Commander says that Indian Air Force will extend its support for the 60th anniversary. Their helicopters and jets will conduct a show after the parade. They will also have drill display and band display at the anniversary celebrations.

He also says Air Force representatives from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Israel, Russia, China and Ukraine are due to participate in this mega event. After the parade on March 2 there will be a fly past and a display of all the vehicles used by the Air Force during its 60 year history.

"We are expecting a crowd of over one million at the exhibition and the carnival from March 2 to 8", Air Chief Marshal Goonatileka added.