The SLAF Team - a journey revisited from Mavil Aru to Puthumathalan:

The eyes, the ears and the power from the skies

Air Force attack aircraft in action

Air Force on a mercy mission - ferrying food for IDPs

Never before in its history has the SLAF been tested to its limits of performance, and strengths and never before has it performed with so much vigour and commitment and achieved this amount of success. The journey from Mavil Aru to Pudumathalan for the SLAF was long and arduous but fulfilling, and the team kept the ensign flying at dizzying heights.

At the commencement of the humanitarian operations, the first to go in were the trusted work horses of the No 06 Squadron (Sqn) - the MI 17, transport helicopters. Ferrying troops and equipment into battle, and replenishing them. The tested and faithful Bell 212’s of No 07 flying out of A’pura and Vauniya were always at hand, evacuating casualties and carrying them to hospitals.

Air support

The Mig 27’s of 12 Sqn, the Kfirs of 10 and the F 7’s of No 05 followed soon, providing close air support to the advancing troops. Pressed in to service at short notice, but brimming with skill, courage and determination the men and their machines blasted passages for their brethren on the ground to forge forward.

The MI 24’s, of the No 9 Sqn followed next, flying low out of the horizon, disgorging their deadly arsenal of 80mm rockets with uncanny precision, whilst strafing the illusive enemy out of his strong points with their deadly 23 mm ‘Pushkai’, 30mm ‘Gash’ and 12.7 mm ‘Gatling’ guns.

Rarely spoken of, the ‘lords of loads’, the No 2 Sqn, with its An 32-B’s and the giant C130 Hercules, carried troops, and cargo round the clock.

The men flying the UAV’s from ground stations pushed both the machines and themselves, up to safety limits to ensure real time imagery was available, through out These men who flew the ‘Eyes and Ears’ in the sky, burnt hours of midnight, oil, and rubbed their bleary eyes to peer into screens, to catch the enemy’s moves on the ground.

Clouds of secrecy

The pilots and crew of the Beachcraft (King 200) veiled in the clouds of secrecy, as thick as the clouds in the high skies they fly in, flew and worked tirelessly to relay information to the decision makers on the ground.

As the nation was deep in slumber those men cooped up in the confines of the Beachcraft depended on coffee and sandwiches for sustenance whilst flying sorties lasting more than six hours each at heights above twenty thousand feet.

Their story too may never be told, like the many meals they missed. The technicians and ground crew focused their untiring energy to achieve, things beyond reality. Battle damages or unserviceability did not effect efficiency, aircraft were promptly returned to the flight lines after repairs in record time. Innovation and ingenuity of these crews kept the aircraft in readiness throughout.

The SLAF team “had begun ticking and soon, the ‘team’ led by a seasoned campaigner, supported by a dedicated ‘core’ was clicking to harmonious perfection.

The SLAF role thus far defined needed to be reviewed with the entry of the LTTE’s light fixed wing aircraft into the fray. An Air Defence Network comprising surveillance radars, interceptor aircraft, surface to air missiles and air defence guns was established to meet the new threat.

Established at short notice, challenged immediately the network of radars, interceptors, surface to air missiles and anti aircraft guns, patiently honed its skills. The first taste of success was when an F-7 interceptor of the 05 Sqn intercepted and destroyed an LTTE Zlin 143 over Mulaitivu. Finally the gunners of No 32 Land Based Air Defence Wing shot down the two LTTE flying bombs before they carried out their design of carnage.

Humanitarian operations

The humanitarian operations, by now had extended beyond the banks of the Mawil Aru, Sampoor, Wakarei and the jungles of the Thoppigala had been liberated. The advance now was on multiple fronts and in more than one theatre.

The SLAFs’ resources needed to be deployed thriftily to support these multiple fronted advances. Subsequent to the Mavil Aru expedition the SLAF commenced the systematic destruction of the LTTE’s war fighting capability, through forays by Mig 27, Kfirs, and F 7s’, far behind the frontlines (interdiction missions).

Training camps, supply dumps, boat building yards, munitions dumps, and concealed Sea Tiger vessels faced the brunt of these attacks. Precision strikes, literally surgical, ensured that training during day came to a stand still, thus resulting in reinforcements to the Tiger frontlines being severely effected. Logistics and other infrastructural activity were engaged, swiftly.

SLAF juggernaut

The leadership already plagued by the elite LRRP’s, on ground found themselves now threatened from the sky. The Tigers found to their dismay, that their attempt to derail the SLAF juggernaut by the attack on the A’Pura Air Base had dismally failed when the Kfir’s of No 10, and Mig 27’s of No 12 took out Thamil Chelvem, the defacto political wing leader, and followed it up with many strikes deep in the belly of the tiger areas. Meanwhile, the ‘Braves’ of the No. 9 Sqn, flying their Mi24 Hind’s constantly zeroed in on points resisting the advances of the three fighting Divisions and the Task Forces.

The men of these Divisions speak with pride and appreciation, of the ‘close air support’ provided by this form of airborne armour, in their time of need, when resistance was fierce and advance was stalled. The dangers faced and experienced throughout this campaign, by the men in the ‘Hinds’ may never be told and may remain on a dusty shelves holding classified documents forever.

Flying the MI 24 on night operations is a manoeuvre not attempted by many Air Forces flying MI-24’s. Among the many distinctions the men of this hold is the fact that they perfected the art of night operations with the ‘Hind’. Thus close air support was provided continuously, during day and night even in unfavourable weather.

In the melee, the SLAF Regiment, the infantry element of the SLAF was called upon to hold vast areas of the land of the Western Wanni and around Trincomalee to relive the Armies’ infantryman from the holding role to join the fighting Divisions.

SLAF Special Forces

This required vast quantities of resources in men and material to be released. The Regimental Special Forces or the SLAF Special Forces element too became operational during this period.

The Mig 27’s were flying sorties continuously, revealing in the roles of interdiction, and close air support. These stout, swept wing birds of prey, had now been mastered to perfection by the pilots of 12 Sqn. They developed their own tactics and manoeuvres, and hold the proud distinction of being the only ones of the many users of Mig27s’ to fly night operations.

“Bad buy”

Blamed as a bad ‘buy’ at one time these machines which carried the biggest payload will be remembered for its shrill engine sound when flying in low, to pound the enemy positions, and the destructive power that followed. Flying low at supersonic speeds the threats and dangers these men faced might never be revealed.

The Kfirs, though aging were up to the task, surgical precision being their forte. The pilots of the 10 Sqn hold the unequalled distinction of knocking out the most number of LTTE Artillery pieces and Sea Tiger attack boats.

The Israeli built ‘Lion Cub’ has now served the nation through thirteen years. The men who mastered the machines will be remembered forever for those precision strikes that broke the spinal cord of the enemy.

The F-7 Chinese built interceptors first came into service in 1992, and now are mostly used in their dedicated role. The 5 Sqn which flies these supersonic predators holds the unique distinction of having scored the first and only air to air kill, over Sri Lankan soil, after World War two when it shot down an LTTE Zlin 143 aircraft over Mulativu.

They will constantly stand vigil with its surface to surface capability to intercept and destroy any intruders in our air space.

The SLAF flying formations, attack, transport and surveillance contributed their mite from Mavil Aru to Puthumathalan. The SLAF Regiment contributed in no small measure ensuring the security of the air bases, and taking over the responsibility of securing land liberated by Army Divisions.

The SLAF organization as a whole, Engineering, Logistics, Administration, Civil Engineering, and Medical contributed to keep the machine working.

Though never heard by the outside world, their role was one of continuous application under pressure to sustain the needs of the flying Sqns and the Regiment troops. The whole team remains proud stake holders of the achievements in the greatest ever humanitarian mission by a nation to free its people from the clutches of terror.

Success of a Military organization is based on leadership and its capacity to harness its resources, to project its ability to achieve the objective. This requires pragmatic, realistic leadership that understands the man and also the machine. The present Commander, Air Chief Marshall Roshan Goonetilleke, holds the distinction of providing this calibre of leadership. It is under his leadership that the SLAF was tested to its limit, but finally prevailed.

Air defence establishment

The SLAF encountered the Tigers air capability, which was a totally new paradigm in the war against terror. An Air defence establishment was created, developed, and finally it succeeded in destroying the menace one solitary night. These were the dividends of patient, committed and realistic leadership.

The SLAF being a well oiled fighting machine has retained its humane touch throughout this mission of mercy, collateral damage being given zero tolerance, and executed to perfection.

When the many thousands of trapped civilians escaped, the SLAF responded swiftly to evacuate the sick and wounded and to establish an ‘Air Bridge’ to feed and sooth our unfortunate brethren. For the SLAF the journey from Mavil Aru to Puthumathalan has been momentous, in both effort and achievement.

In retrospect the flames of battle are now smothered by the euphoria of victory, a point at which the memory of the 57 officers and 382 men who sacrificed their precious lives unselfishly, through nearly three decades of conflict need to be re-kindled, for its their today that we will be rejoicing tomorrow.

(JAN)