Air Force receives Beechcraft from US

The US government has officially handed over a Beechcraft King Air 360ER, valued at $19 million, to the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) for maritime surveillance and search-and-rescue operations. The SLAF inducted the aircraft during a ceremony attended by Defence Secretary Sampath Thuyacontha, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung, Admiral Stephen Koehler, Commander of the US Pacific Fleet and Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa. Pix by NImalsiri Edirisinghe