Sri Lankan army officers, faces covered in clothes to avoid dust, get ready participate in rehearsals of a military parade in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, May 15, 2012. Sri Lanka will commemorate the government's victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels in an annual military pageant scheduled for May 19. In 2009, the Tamil Tigers admitted defeat in their 25-year war with the Sri Lankan government that left more than 70,000 people dead.
Sri Lankan Specials Forces personnel ride in formation during a parade rehearsal in Colombo on May 15, 2012. Sri Lanka celebrates War Heroes Week with a military parade scheduled for May 19. The parade celebrates the third anniversary of the military defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009, ending a 37-year long separatist conflict.
Sri Lankan soldiers march during a rehearsal in Colombo on May 15, 2012
Sri Lankan army soldiers march during rehearsals of a military parade in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, May 17, 2012. Sri Lanka will commemorate the government's victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels in an annual military parade scheduled for May 19. In 2009, the Tamil Tigers admitted defeat in their 25-year war with the Sri Lankan government that left more than 70,000 people dead.
Sri Lankan navy officers march during rehearsals of a military parade in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, May 17, 2012.
Sri Lankan army Special Force commandos interact during a Victory Day parade rehearsal in Colombo on May 17, 2012
Sri Lankan Air Force aircraft fly in formation during a Victory Day parade rehearsal in Colombo on May 17, 2012. Sri Lanka celebrates War Heroes Week with a military parade scheduled for May 19. The parade celebrates the third anniversary of the military defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009, ending a 37-year long separatist conflict.
In mid-July 2012, Russia’s Rosoboronexport announced an order from Sri Lanka for another 14 Mi-171 helicopters, to be built at the Ulan-Ude plant. The SLAF started operating Mi-17s in 1993, and the current fleet of 13-18 machines equips No. 6 Helicopter Squadron at Anuradhapura, in north-central Sri Lanka.
The additional buy is part of a $300 million, 10-year loan to buy equipment for Sri Lanka’s military, which was signed during a 2012 state visit to Russia. Why buy more helicopters? SLAF spokesman Group Captain Andrew Wijesuriya told Reuters they were buying them for civilian tourism. Oddly enough, that’s probably at least partly true…
Sri Lanka’s air force does operate an effort called Helitours, which uses the SLAF’s array of Huey, Jet Ranger and Mi-17 helicopters, as well as its Chinese Y-12 and Ukranian AN-32B fixed-wing transports. It’s more about short-haul transport than sightseeing tours, but the government’s full victory over the Tamil Tigers is expected to open the island for more tourism, as well as other economic activity. Repurposing the SLAF to support that expansion is politically shrewd, and makes extra funds available to the military now that major hostilities are over.
Having said all that, it’s also true that transport helicopters are critical to counterinsurgency efforts, and the Mi-17s can be armed. The exact version wasn’t specified, but even civil-certified M-171A1s can be militarized to carry weapons later, as Mi-171Sh variants are delivered ready for that role.
Russia and China were instrumental in Sri Lanka’s “Rajapaksa model” of dealing with its insurgency, and provided political cover at world forums like the UN. Even more important, they provided a significant quantity of weaponry and support without any human rights conditions, or threats of embargo. That backing, in turn, allowed Sri Lanka’s government to unleash the full might of its military against the Tamil Tigers, smashing through their strongholds and towns en route to the final battle near Putumattalan.
Both China and Russia continue to remain very active in Sri Lanka. china’s centerpiece is a massive construction effort to built a port at Hambanthota, which will serve as a way-station for commercial traffic to Africa, and will also be capable of hosting warships. The announcement of latest deal between Russia and Sri Lanka, meanwhile, comes as Sri Lanka this week discussed exploration and development of its natural gas resources with Russia’s Gazprom, who has been doing some exploration in the area.
Friday, October 09, 2015 - Islamabad—Taking keen interest to purchase multipurpose JF-17 Thunder aircraft from Pakistan, Sri Lankan Air Force Chief Air Marshal Gagan Bulathsinghala will arrive here next month to further pushing the deal, diplomatic sources said.
A co-production of Pakistan and China, the fighter aircraft have participated successfully in world’s reputed air shows including the recently held in Paris, attracting buyers from Asia and Africa due to its performance and competitive price tag. Myanmar has already clinched a deal while negotiations with other potential buyers are in progress.
Besides holding meetings with Pakistan authorities, he will call on Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman.
Negotiations on number of planes Sri Lanka is interested to purchase and their financial aspects are in final stages, diplomatic sources said.
COLOMBO/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Sri Lanka have signed an agreement under which the former would sell eight JF-17 Thunder aircraft to the latter in the initial stage despite Indian pressure.
The agreement is part of several memorandum of understanding (MoUs)inked between Pakistan and Sri Lanka during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s three-day visit to the island earlier today.
Also read: Pakistan, Sri Lanka to include services in free trade pact
According to the accord, Pakistan will sell eight JF-17 war planes to Sri Lanka in the first phase.
India had warned Sri Lanka against dealing with Pakistan, urging it to procure its fighter jets instead, according to highly placed diplomatic sources.
Without naming anyone, they said two Indian high-ups had threatened a Sri Lankan official over the telephone to not sign the aircraft deal with Pakistan. Failing to do so, they warned, India would cancel the $400 million loan for Colombo port city project.
However, the Sri Lanka government reportedly refused the offer saying Indian air force itself was not using the aircraft they were offering them to purchase.
Diplomatic sources further told Geo News that Sri Lanka would procure a naval fleet from India instead.
Selon l'une de mes sources en Chine, les pilotes d'essai d'un pays de l'Asie du Sud se trouvent actuellement à Chengdu pour tester l'avion de chasse FC-1.