News
American multi-mission aircraft to bolster disaster response
View(s):By Dilushi Wijesinghe
The United States is set to provide a Beechcraft King Air 360ER aircraft to the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) this year. This was revealed officially by United States Ambassador Julie Chung at the closing ceremony of the five-day bilateral military exercise ‘Atlas Angel’.
The aircraft will be a crucial asset for maritime surveillance and reconnaissance observation purposes.
Chief of staff - R.S. Wickremaratne
“I am very proud of and eagerly anticipate the arrival of our King Air maritime patrol aircraft the United States will grant to the Sri Lankan Air Force this year. This will be a key asset in future search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response missions for Sri Lanka,” Ms Chung said.
Reflecting on the exercise, Ms Chung remarked: “The state partnership programme with the Montana National Guard is one of the cornerstones of the U.S.-Sri Lankan defence partnership. Today, the ‘Atlas Angel 2024’ is a powerful testament to how much we have rapidly grown.”
Ms Chung also praised the involvement of women, noting: “There’s nothing that makes me happier than to see women as part of this programme. This week, we had the Women in Security Initiative, bringing together the women of Sri Lanka and the United States military to discuss the emerging role of women in the security field and their shared experiences.’’
Commander of the Montana National Guard Major General Pete Hronek
“This exercise is a step in the right direction to prepare ourselves to respond to a crisis and build the meaningful relationships that will help identify the gaps in capability and force the mechanism necessary to face whatever comes next, together,” said Adjutant General of the State of Montana, Commander of the Montana National Guard, Major General Pete Hronek.
“The exercise involved fire suppression, civilian trauma management, incident command, medical response to mass casualties, and a casualty extraction to a concrete wall. Thirty plus Sri Lankan Air Force members were given hands-on training, which was huge,” he added.
Chief of Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Wickremeratne who represented Air Marshal Udeni Rajapakse emphasised the strategic importance of the partnership. “The Sri Lankan Air Force has the vision to contribute towards ensuring national security through effective employment of air power, protecting our population from all forms of threats, protecting the natural environment which are important key areas that we look at. In this context, the partnership that we have with the Montana National Guard is very important to us. It is important in sharing the experiences of both sides to enhance operational skill levels, sustain operational readiness and be prepared for common challenges,” he said.
US Ambassador Julie Chung. Pix by Eshan Fernando
Commenting on the importance of the outcome of the exercise, Air Vice Marshal Wickremeratne said: “We are the first responders for SAR (search and rescue) in case of an air crash in our FIR (flight information region), which expands towards the ocean bordering Indonesia, Australia and India. We are given the responsibility to gather air samples in case of a sea DRM (disaster risk management) emergency. And I must say that we have the best qualified and skilled sea DRM quick reaction team in Sri Lanka.’’
He acknowledged current challenges: “At present, our heavy lift capacity is zero.” The SLAF’s two c-130 aircrafts are not in use. “Medium life capacity has reduced below 50%, but we are fortunate to have a human resource who are highly skilled and dedicated along with a fair number of utility aircraft, both rotor-wing (helicopter) and fixed-wing (other planes).’’
He expressed optimism about future developments: “In the next few years, we will be concentrating on recovering our fleet and make changes to our concept of operations by enhancing technology in the fields of data collection, analysis, interpretation and execution.’’
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