Sri Lanka Air Force

Sri Lanka Air Force
  • ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව (Sinhala)
  • இலங்கை வான்படை (Tamil)
Badge of the Sri Lanka Air Force
Founded2 March 1951; 73 years ago (1951-03-02)
Country Sri Lanka
TypeAir force
RoleAerial warfare
Size27,000 personnel[1]
Part ofSri Lanka Armed Forces
HeadquartersSLAF Colombo, Colombo
Motto(s)
  • සුරකිමු ලකඹර
  • Surakimu Lakambara
  • "Guardian Of The Skies"
Colours      
March
  • Guwana Ara Lak Deraņa Purā
  • "Over the skies of Sri Lanka"
Anniversaries2 March: Air Force Day
Engagements
DecorationsMilitary awards and decorations of Sri Lanka
Websitewww.airforce.lk
Commanders
Commander-in-ChiefPresident Anura Kumara Dissanayake
Commander of the Air ForceAir Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa
Chief of staffAir Vice Marshal RS Wickremeratne
Deputy Chief of the Air StaffAir Vice Marshal Ranjith Senanayake
Insignia
Roundel
Fin flash
Ensign
Aircraft flown
FighterIAI Kfir
Attack helicopterMil Mi-24
Multirole helicopterBell 212, Bell 412
Trainer helicopterBell 206
Utility helicopterMil Mi-17
InterceptorChengdu F-7
PatrolBeechcraft Super King Air, Dornier 228
ReconnaissanceIAI Searcher, EMIT Blue Horizon 2, Lihiniya MK I, AAI RQ-2 Pioneer, IAI Scout
TrainerK-8 Karakorum, Nanchang CJ-6 (PT-6), Cessna 150
TransportC-130 Hercules, Antonov An-32, Harbin Y-12, Xian MA60

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 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 Air Marshal.

  1. ^ "Air Force to increase women wing to 30 percent – AF Commander". CeylonToday. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-07.