Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Commander Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa told the Daily News that the United States and Australian Air Forces will donate two state-of-the-art aircraft to the SLAF, further strengthening defence cooperation.
Accordingly, a Beechcraft-King Air 360ER (Extended Range) aircraft will be donated by the United States Air Force to Sri Lanka and it will arrive in June, whilst a Beechcraft-King Air 350 aircraft, donated by the Australian Air Force, will arrive in the country in May. Both aircraft are new.
The Air Force Commander, who stated that he recently visited Singapore to discuss the delivery of these aircraft, said that he participated in three rounds of discussions there.
He also added that during those discussions, he requested the United States to provide two C130 aircraft to the SLAF. Meanwhile, he recalled that during the talks between the US diplomats who came to Sri Lanka and President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the US diplomats stated that an aircraft would be provided to Sri Lanka.
The SLAF Commander said that the diplomatic negotiations regarding the delivery of these aircraft to Sri Lanka are successful.
Meanwhile, Air Marshal Rajapaksa recalled that India provided Donier 228 aircraft for surveillance and maritime reconnaissance to the SLAF and said that it should be appreciated.
Dharma Sri Abeyratne
