Sri Lanka is adopting more American Bell 206 helicopters and a Pakistani Chengdu J-7 aircraft to enhance the country’s air force capabilities.
The investment stipulates eight of the 206 systems in their TH-57 Sea Ranger military derivative ordered from Washington DC and a single Chinese-made J-7 in its FT-7 export trainer variant from Islamabad.
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Commander Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa confirmed that the Bell fleet is scheduled to arrive later this year.
Meanwhile, Rajapaksa’s recent bilateral meeting with Pakistan allowed the FT-7 order to be delivered as a grant, with the shipment expected “in the near future.”
A Pakistani Chengdu F-7PG aircraft conducts a training mission during a multinational exercise Dec. 9, 2009, in Southwest Asia. Aircrews from France, Jordan, Pakistan, the U.A.E., the U.K. and the U.S. are training together in the Air Forces Central area of responsibility.
A Pakistani Chengdu F-7PG aircraft. Photo: Michael B. Keller/Wikimedia Commons/US Air Force
“By acquiring modern drone security units and advanced air defence weapons, the SLAF has initiated a programme in collaboration with the government to upgrade both the air defence and radar systems,” Rajapaksa remarked.
“As the government aims to boost the economy by enhancing the tourism industry, the Sri Lanka Air Force has also launched several programmes to support these efforts.”
Airborne Fleet Expansion
The SLAF’s latest project follows the service’s induction of a Beechcraft King Air 360ER aircraft last year as part of a contract signed with US-based aerospace company Textron Aviation in 2022.
Concurrently, the military received a Beechcraft King Air 350 from the Royal Australian Air Force to bolster Sri Lanka and Canberra’s maritime security partnership across the Indian Ocean.
Sri Lanka is also engaged with Tel Aviv’s state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries to upgrade the SLAF’s existing Kfir fourth-generation fighter jets.
The modernized planes will obtain Kfir’s latest C12 configuration, replacing the air force’s older C2 and C3 models by 2025.
Additionally, the South Asian government accepted two Harbin Y-12s from China to bolster its tactical airborne cargo and personnel transportation.
Air Marshal Rajapaksa said that with those aircraft the SLAF has already initiated surveillance operations in Sri Lanka’s seas to combat maritime threats such as drug trafficking, human smuggling, and illegal fishing, while also protecting local fishermen and naval personnel from piracy.
In addition to these new acquisitions, the SLAF is in the process of modernising its fleet of Kfir fighter jets. An agreement signed with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in 2021 will see five Kfir jets upgraded.
The Commander confirmed that the upgraded C12 Kfir jets, replacing the older C2 and C3 models, will be integrated into the SLAF fleet in 2025. These jets will play a crucial role in surveillance operations across the Indian Ocean.
.“By acquiring modern drone security units and advanced air defence weapons, the SLAF has initiated a programme in collaboration with the government to upgrade both the air defence and radar systems.
As the government aims to boost the economy by enhancing the tourism industry, the Sri Lanka Air Force has also launched several programmes to support these efforts,” the commander said.
