“Conflict between RUSSIA AND UKRAINE is directly affecting our aircraft serviceability” - Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana

• We are servicing and overhauling the bare minimum
• If it was due to rising geopolitical pressures, I believe we need to have a larger fleet
• We don’t have a proper, direct enemy as such. But we do have other global threats coming into play
• We are not choosing India. We have requested all our friends to support us
• Sri Lanka doesn’t have any capabilities of at least even monitoring our air space

The 71st anniversary of the Sri Lanka Air Force falls today, with a series of activities underway to commemorate the event. In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana discussed current issues, challenges, and opportunities ahead. Excerpts of the interview:

 Q  There were recent media reports claiming that Sri Lanka is to acquire two aircraft, which caused quite a stir, given the current economic crisis. Can you explain the need for these aircraft?

The American government is giving this Beechcraft totally free, under a foreign military sales contract. There is absolutely no cost involved. For the last year, we have been discussing with our counterparts and we have requested two or three Beech aircraft to enhance maritime security by air. So this year they have confirmed that they will give one aircraft by the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023.   

Sri Lanka has more maritime area than our land area. There is an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of about 24 times. Then we have the continental shelf and the continental claims, which can go up to even two or three times than the EEZ. Therefore, I believe it is our responsibility to protect whatever resources which are trapped in the sea which belong to Sri Lanka. This is why it is important that we enhance our maritime security.   

 Q  There have been reports that Sri Lanka is in talks with India to acquire two aircraft. What is the progress of this dialogue?

I believe we are at the end of our discussions. India too has promised to give us one aircraft free of charge, which is once again to enhance our maritime security. I believe that that aircraft should arrive here by mid 2022. That too will be free of charge, as a grant from the Government of India to the Sri Lanka Air Force.   

 Q  Why is it that we are looking at aid from India specifically?

We are not choosing India. We have requested all our friends to support us, to enhance our air power capabilities and some countries responded positively. One of them is India. India being the closest neighbour, we have had good ties for generations. So I think that is why it is being offered to us free of charge.   
Maritime security is important for the entire region. We need to have this free passage for the commercial ships to sail through the South of Sri Lanka. That is why the regional powers, the super powers and the global powers are interested in enhancing our maritime security to ensure that the free passage is being maintained in the Indian Ocean.   

 Q  What is your evaluation of Sri Lanka’s current defence capabilities?

I think our capabilities are enough to maintain the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka. We must always develop our defence capabilities according to the threat. So first we have to analyze the threat, and according to the threat, it must be decided what defence posture we should be having.   
With His Excellency the President’s vision for Sri Lanka to be friends for all, and enemy to none, and along with Sri Lanka being a non-aligned country, we don’t have a proper, direct enemy as such. But we do have other global threats coming into play. Extremism, drugs and other illegal activities are happening all around. So we have to make sure that those things are being curtailed, monitored and controlled. That is our current threat, which we are quite capable of handling.  

 Q  Why do we need the fleets of the scale that we have at present? Is it to protect our sovereign interests or is it because of rising geopolitical pressures?

If it was due to rising geopolitical pressures, I believe we need to have a larger fleet than we have. We need to have a larger force than this. Our fleet is being maintained to ensure our domestic requirements and to maintain our national security requirements.   
Apart from maritime security, we are looking at enhancing whatever the capabilities that we have right now, to make sure that they are maintained for future as well. Since Sri Lanka is an island, we have to be ready for any natural disasters too.   

 Q  Have you been able to achieve your objectives since your appointment as the Commander of the Air Force?

As soon as I took over, I presented four major missions or lines that I should be following in order to take the Air Force forward. I think for the last year, even with the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and challenges, we managed to achieve the things that we had planned.  

This includes how we developed our air assets, made them serviceable and put them back into service last year. The A-32s and Kfirs were sent for upgrades. A lot of Mi-17 aircraft were upgraded. Meanwhile two countries have agreed to provide us with aircrafts. We also have a proper plan in responding to natural disasters now. In other words, we know exactly where to keep the aircraft, as we now have an aircraft positioning plan for Sri Lanka. We have done a lot of training with the Special Task Force and our own special forces, especially with regard to search and rescue missions. We have also acquired new equipment for these types of missions, so all these four areas which we have planned have been achieved.  

This year I’m planning to look into two new areas. One area is the management of air space. So far, we don’t have any capabilities of at least even monitoring our air space. This is why I’m trying to establish an air space management cell, with the help from our foreign friends. Though we don’t have the capability to go into space, we must ensure that the space above our country belongs to Sri Lankans. To do that, a space monitoring unit is essential.   

In addition to these, we have worked towards the cyber, technical and professional advancements, for which we have had a lot of training. On the other hand, the well-being of my personnel is a major concern. For the last 70 years, we never had a proper hospital. At the beginning of this year, we laid the foundation stone for a hospital for which His Excellency the President provided the Air Force with the land required. I believe the personnel who are working with us, ones who have retired as well as future personnel and their families would all be benefitted from this programme.   

 Q  Sri Lanka has a number of Soviet made aircraft. How does the ongoing situation in Russia and Ukraine impact requirements of the Air Force?

It is indeed a problem for us, as we have a lot of Soviet Union made aircraft and helicopters in our fleet. We are depending a lot on Russia, Ukraine and their neighbouring countries. So the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is directly affecting our aircraft serviceability and spares backup. However, we are now attempting to discuss with the neighbouring countries around Russia, to see how they can help us with the spares. We are also very mindful of how we would be using these spares.   

As it is a tender procedure, we know who the suppliers are. We mainly go with Russian or Ukrainian suppliers as they are the manufacturers or the main suppliers in the system. Following this situation, we have identified who the other suppliers are around the region. So, if we fail to negotiate with Russia and Ukraine, we might go into looking for other suppliers around the region.   

 Q  With the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka, how does the Air Force manage its requirements, especially in fleet management? 

We have a proper plan. We are servicing and overhauling the bare minimum .We attend only to the immediate requirements to ensure national security. We don’t go for major overhauls or unnecessary repairs and upgrades of the systems. We do this through a lot of planning and discussions with the Treasury and Ministry of Defence.   
We are currently looking into the serviceability of C-130 aircrafts, which have been lying on ground for a long time. Discussions are ongoing to make them air worthy. If we get it into a reasonable budget, the idea is to make them serviceable and give it to the United Nations, from which we can earn some foreign exchange. Even at present, we are running UN missions in the Central African Republic from which Sri Lanka earns millions of dollars per year for the services rendered by the Air Force, and these funds directly go to the Treasury.