Aircraft parts destroyed with two Tiger ships

Walter Jayawardhana

WASHINGTON: The cargo destroyed with the two LTTE ships by the Navy South East of Arugam Bay has once again drawn the attention of the South Asian defence community to the Tigers’ attempt to build an air wing.

According to intelligence reports some of the most expensive military hardware destroyed with the ships were aircraft spare parts or parts necessary to assemble light aircraft.

The LTTE attempted to improve the airworthiness of its existing fleet of airplanes or add a few more aircraft to its fleet by these shipments.

Navy sources said the first ship destroyed was 70 meters long and the second ship was 50 meters long. Navy sources said according to information, the first ship contained 1,500 tons and the second ship contained 1,000 tons of arms, ammunition and aircraft parts.

The Navy estimated that the LTTE has lost about US $ 7.9 million worth of cargo in both ships. Sources said the cargo ships are worth about US $ 15 million. Twenty four Sea Tigers trained in arms smuggling and sailing activities also perished.

Navy sources pointed out according to information, the ship contained a cargo of airplane parts, anti-aircraft missiles, rocket propelled grenades and other artillery missiles and tons of high explosives. Both ships were proceeding to Mullaitivu from the seas of Indonesia. The destruction of the two ships is considered a further step started by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government to give priority to completely destroy LTTE air power.

The intelligence services know that the Tigers possessed at least two light aircraft and two small helicopters. In Indian intelligence reports they were identified as Czech built Zlin-143 aircrafts and two small helicopters of R44 type.

Indian intelligence has said that the LTTE possessing aircraft poses a grave security threat to the region. Those aircraft could be used in a skyjack situation to force down an aircraft or they could be used as a flying bomb for a terrorist attack on an important building like during 9/11, they have warned.