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Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; Sinhala: ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, romanized: Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; Tamil: இலங்கை விமானப்படை, romanized: Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the youngest of the three components of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major role throughout the Sri Lankan Civil War. The SLAF operates more than 160 aircraft.
The Commander of the Air Force is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Air Force who holds the rank of Air Marshal.
The mission statement of the Sri Lanka Air Force is
To achieve professional excellence in rapid mobility and precision engagement by developing core capabilities based on technological superiority, to ensure operational readiness and success in exploiting the competent human resources and equipment of the Sri Lanka Air Force
The Vision of the Sri Lanka Air Force is
To be a well accomplished, resolute, and ingenious airpower capable of fulfilling the aspirations of the nation and preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the island
Although Ceylonese had served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Government of Ceylon adopted the No. 102 Squadron RAF, no air units were formed as part of the Ceylon Defence Force. The newly established Dominion of Ceylon, under its first Prime Minister, D. S. Senanayake began establishing its armed forces. The need for an air force was identified in its defence policy and the Air Force Act was passed in parliament in 1951 in order to establish an air force for the new nation.
As such the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) was formed on 2 March 1951 with RAF officers and other personnel seconded to the RCyAF. Ceylonese were recruited to the new RCyAF and several Ceylonese who had served with the RAF during World War II were absorbed in the force. Initial objective was to train local pilots and ground crew with early administration and training carried out exclusively by RAF officers and other personnel on secondment. The first aircraft of the RCyAF were de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunks used as basic trainers to train the first batches of pilots locally while several cadets were sent to Royal Air Force College Cranwell. These were followed by Boulton Paul Balliol T.Mk.2s and Airspeed Oxford Mk.1s for advanced training of pilots and aircrew along with de Havilland Doves and de Havilland Herons for transport use, all provided by the British Government. By 1955, the RCyAF was operating two flying squadrons based at RAF Negombo, with one focused on training and the other on transport. The first helicopter type to be added to the service was the Westland Dragonfly.
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Sri Lanka Air Force AI simulator
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Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; Sinhala: ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, romanized: Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; Tamil: இலங்கை விமானப்படை, romanized: Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the youngest of the three components of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major role throughout the Sri Lankan Civil War. The SLAF operates more than 160 aircraft.
The Commander of the Air Force is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Air Force who holds the rank of Air Marshal.
The mission statement of the Sri Lanka Air Force is
To achieve professional excellence in rapid mobility and precision engagement by developing core capabilities based on technological superiority, to ensure operational readiness and success in exploiting the competent human resources and equipment of the Sri Lanka Air Force
The Vision of the Sri Lanka Air Force is
To be a well accomplished, resolute, and ingenious airpower capable of fulfilling the aspirations of the nation and preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the island
Although Ceylonese had served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Government of Ceylon adopted the No. 102 Squadron RAF, no air units were formed as part of the Ceylon Defence Force. The newly established Dominion of Ceylon, under its first Prime Minister, D. S. Senanayake began establishing its armed forces. The need for an air force was identified in its defence policy and the Air Force Act was passed in parliament in 1951 in order to establish an air force for the new nation.
As such the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) was formed on 2 March 1951 with RAF officers and other personnel seconded to the RCyAF. Ceylonese were recruited to the new RCyAF and several Ceylonese who had served with the RAF during World War II were absorbed in the force. Initial objective was to train local pilots and ground crew with early administration and training carried out exclusively by RAF officers and other personnel on secondment. The first aircraft of the RCyAF were de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunks used as basic trainers to train the first batches of pilots locally while several cadets were sent to Royal Air Force College Cranwell. These were followed by Boulton Paul Balliol T.Mk.2s and Airspeed Oxford Mk.1s for advanced training of pilots and aircrew along with de Havilland Doves and de Havilland Herons for transport use, all provided by the British Government. By 1955, the RCyAF was operating two flying squadrons based at RAF Negombo, with one focused on training and the other on transport. The first helicopter type to be added to the service was the Westland Dragonfly.