• Making aircraft fleet operational a priority
• Maritime security, air defence, drone risks, and cyber security key challenges

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) turned 74 yesterday (2) as Sri Lanka and its armed forces undergo a transformative phase in history. With the island nation still recovering from an economic crisis, sustaining air power and ensuring competencies gained in battle are passed down to the next generation of military aviators and Air Force personnel presents challenges for the force.

The Daily Morning sat down with the 20th Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Marshal Bandu Edirisinghe to discuss the history, present, and future of the SLAF. 

Following are excerpts from the interview:

The Sri Lanka Air Force turned 74 on 2 March. Looking back at the rich history the SLAF and the RCyAF had, what is being done to preserve it and make people aware of the past?

History and traditions are important. Our Air Force Museum at Ratmalana is the centre of our efforts to document, preserve, and build awareness of our history. We have a history with each Air Force Commander documenting parts of our collective history. So, we have a collection of books and publications about our history, some of them are available for sale as well. Our story, from the beginning, is carefully preserved and on display at the Air Force Museum. I would like to invite any citizen or aviation enthusiast to visit it and learn about how we have evolved over the decades and the sacrifices made to keep Sri Lanka safe and peaceful. We are in the process of getting some of our ‘personal stories’ and accounts of battle put in black and white before they are forgotten.

In your opinion, what are the challenges the SLAF faces at present? And what are you planning to do about them?

At present, the biggest challenge we have to manage is the lack of assets (aircraft and equipment). The Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis severely affected our fleet. The SLAF struggled to get spare parts and service our fleet. Even the parts which were available were sold at high prices, and the freight charges to get them imported or to send components overseas for overhaul was also high. For several years now this issue has been persisting and has made it challenging to get much of our fleet off the ground. Our priority now is to restore the fleet to an airworthy status so that we can perform our primary duties and tasks assigned to us.

We have informed the Government about our needs and the funds required to get our fleet operational and overhaul some of the aircrafts. On the rotor-wing side, most of our Mi-17 are grounded; only the Bell helicopters are operational. So, the process is ongoing, with plans afoot to overhaul three Mi-17 in the next few months. In the near future, we want to overhaul another five, which will be to cater to our primary missions and local operational needs, especially for HADR, and to respond to any domestic situation. We must also continue our training to be fighting fit, we also need aircraft to carry out training and missions with the Navy and Army. These three which we plan to overhaul first is earmarked to sustain our UN mission in the Central African Republic. The three which are in service in CAR will be in need of overhaul soon. Our contingent in CAR is well-respected and is an award-winning entity.

Another challenge which has our attention are the threats posed by unmanned aircraft or drones as they are commonly known. Sri Lanka still does not have a robust regulatory system on the use of drones. This creates aviation-safety issues, and can pose a national security threat, especially to our critical infrastructure, like the power plants in the energy sector, key installations, and VIPs. So, we need to improve our drone-detection capabilities, and countermeasures, both soft and kinetic. We have limited urban air-defence capabilities, but there is room for improvement.

Our air defence system is aging and does not cover all parts of the island. We urgently need to update and modernise the air defence architecture.

Our transport and utility fleet, made up of AN-32 and Y-12 are better off. We are awaiting engines for the AN-32, and we have two new Y-12s. We are also overhauling several older Y-12s which are in the fleet. We currently carry out aircraft overhauls on some models by ourselves. Our training fleet is also aging. We are hopeful that we will get some relief on that end with some aircraft planned as donations. Some of the Cessna basic trainers in use were built in the 1970s.

Looking near term and ahead, what type of threat landscape do you think is in store over the next five years?

At present, the threat from a conventional military or State actor is low. The largest concern for us is maritime security. There is smuggling of narcotics, contraband, arms, and even people, which happen in the Indian Ocean. Narco-trafficking is a major concern for us. We are also responsible for the safety and security of one of the largest shipping lanes, which run off the southern end of our island. We need to be ready to face any threats of terrorism or disruptions to them. Shipping is a lifeline for Sri Lanka and our economy. We are also concerned about illegal fishing, pollution at sea, and protection of critical infrastructure, like ports, power plants, and even the data-cables which lie on our seabed. Alongside these threat areas we must continue to do our peace-time air-policing duties to protect and control our airspace.

Sri Lanka is also responsible for a large Flight Information Region, in which we need to be ready to respond and provide search-and-rescue services. This region extends nearly to 900 nautical miles and borders Indonesia and Australia. As such, it is a large area which we need to monitor and be ready to respond to.

In view of such concerns, the SLAF has worked towards improving our maritime security and surveillance capabilities, with help from India, the United States, and Australia. We have three aircrafts which we have got from them that have strengthened our maritime domain awareness capabilities.

The growing climate change-related challenges have also posed a threat that we need to address. The SLAF is often called on to respond in HADR roles when flooding occurs, or when there are forest fires, or mudslides/earth slips.  These threats manifest annually, and we forward plan and train to respond to them.  Our speed and reach often make the SLAF the first responders. So, we need a fleet of aircraft which can cater to HADR operations. This is why we need the helicopter fleet overhauled quickly and to gain night operational capacity for them.

Do you feel that the lack of public discourse about defence-related issues has created an environment where some question the need for armed forces and the Air Force to be kept operational? What are your thoughts about that?

Yes, I think so. If the public is unaware and not convinced about matters related to defence and security, there will not be adequate public support to sustain an effective military and security structure. This in turn impacts the political will to give due priority for defence and security. This is a concerning matter.

Let’s be clear, defence and aviation, especially military aviation, is not cheap. However, it is an essential part of a nation-state. So, we are trying to keep the public informed. We dispatch our officers to engage in academic and other discussions, we have awareness building programmes, and hold events about what we do.

I must however note, that during the conflict period, we had widespread public support, and the public was interested to know what was going on.

With Sri Lanka going through a transformative period, technology adaptation and upskilling of existing personnel and fleet expansions are being planned by the Army and the Navy. What type of transition will the SLAF undergo over the next 5 to 10 years?

In the short term, the first step of our transition was undertaken by my predecessors, which is the modernisation of our small fleet of Kfir jets. The Kfir are being modernised from C-7 to C-12 variant form. The SLAF will gradually receive six Kfir multi-role jets from that process which is ongoing, and with it will come advanced avionics and combat capabilities which we did not have earlier. We plan to use them in the maritime surveillance and strike role in the future.

Then, in parallel to overhauling the Mi-17s, we want to equip them with new avionics, night operation capability. We are also trying to revive our heavy lift capabilities by overhauling our two C-130 Hercules aircraft, which have been grounded for several years. With the Hercules operational, we can respond to domestic and regional incidents and can also use them for long range search and rescue duties. We are in discussions with the US to see if they can provide us with another C-130 aircraft fit for our mission with systems we request. 

We are also studying the possibility of acquiring some modern unmanned aircraft systems and improving our cyber-security systems.

The Navy has drafted a proposed air-naval operation doctrine; is the SLAF formulating its own? How will the SLAF work with the SLN and possibly the SLCG in the future (as ensuring maritime domain security is vital for Sri Lanka)?

We are currently working with the Navy to develop a joint air-naval doctrine. It will be built on our shared experience over decades. Once the doctrine is complete and adopted, we will effect the necessary structural and organisational changes to carry out the relevant duties. This doctrine, once complete, will help develop the SOPs for us to carry out maritime operations.

In a recent engagement with the press, you highlighted concerns about the wide proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Systems and drones. How is Sri Lanka vulnerable, and what is the SLAF doing to address the issue?

Yes, we have projected the requirement to detect and counter drones to the Ministry of Defence. We are studying what systems are available and a decision will likely be made in the near future about how to proceed on this matter. It is important that we have the kit we need to protect critical national infrastructure like ports, power stations, refineries, fuel and power-transmission nodes, key government installations, and fuel reserves. Like I said before, those new systems will need to be complemented with a robust regulatory system. We also need to study how other countries regulate ‘autonomous’ drones, which are problematic to control.

The country is gearing up for a digitalisation drive. What is the Air Force doing to protect Sri Lanka’s cyber security?

The Air Force has been entrusted with cyber security. We have an operations room that oversees cyber security threats at SLAF Headquarters. Our centre manages the security of over 100 key State-owned websites and their digital systems. We have dedicated firewalls and threat-detection systems and well-trained cyber-security specialists. Our approach is defensive and not offensive. Our priority is to protect our cyber security.

The traditional role of the Air Force is to protect our airspace. Can the SLAF continue to maintain peace-time air-policing capabilities?

We still maintain our air-policing capabilities. Our F-7 fleet, though small, can engage in air-to-air missions. They can also perform air-to-ground missions as well. When we get the Kfirs operational, they will augment this capability. We can sustain our air-policing needs.

The Air Force, similar to the other two branches of the armed forces, is slated to be ‘right sized’ in the future. What are your thoughts on this?

Yes, there are plans to ‘right size’. In doing so, being a technical organisation which needs to be combat-ready, we need to retain skilled professionals. We must maintain a good pool of ‘trainers who can train the trainers’ – passing down experience is vital to sustain good standards and keep the fleet operational. This is true to all branches of the service, be it a pilot, logistician, flight engineer, or gunner. One issue is those who joined up during the 2007-2009 drive will finish their 22 years of service in the next few years, and this will leave a 3,000- or 4,000-strong gap in numbers. So, we need to manage the outflow and retain the skilled personnel. After all, we have invested a lot of taxpayer’s rupees on training them and getting them to be specialists.