New Air Force commander assumes duties

The new Air Force commander Air Marshal  Sudarshana Pathirana  assumed duties in his new posting.

He was promoted to the three star rank of Air Marshal with effect from today by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa before being appointed to the post.

The Air Force has posted the profile of the new Commander on its website. It said:

Born on 30th December 1965, Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana is a proud product of Dharmaraja College Kandy. Having joined the SLAF as an Officer Cadet on 2nd July 1985, he completed his Basic Ground Training at Diyatalawa, securing the award for the Best Cadet of the 14th Officer Cadets Course. He was a member of the first batch of pilots who were selected for advance flying training in the Pakistan Air Force and secured the award for the Best Allied Flight Cadet by the Pakistan Air Force. Air Marshal Pathirana was commissioned in the rank of Pilot Officer on 2nd January 1987 at the PAF Academy, Risalpur, Pakistan. Initially commencing his career in the Sri Lanka Air Force as a Reconnaissance pilot, he subsequently transited to Light Transport flying prior to moving into fast jets as a member of the first batch of pilots to fly supersonic aircraft in Sri Lanka. He commanded No 5 Fighter and subsequently No 10 Fighter Squadrons flying the Kfir C 2 / C 7 extensively. Air Marshal Pathirana is a qualified flying instructor and a flying examiner. In addition to Kfir and F-7 fighters he is qualified in over 10 types of aircraft earning him over 3,500 flying hours. In addition, he holds a Commercial Pilots License and is a Flying Examiner for the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka.

Air Marshal Pathirana followed his Junior Command and Staff Course at the Command and Staff and Training Institute, Bangladesh and he also earned the distinction of attending the esteemed Air Command and Staff Collage, Air University US Air Force, Alabama, USA, where he became the first Sri Lankan Air Force Officer to obtain the prestigious Masters in Operational Art and Science awarded by the Air University, Alabama, USA. In the year 2004 he successfully read for his 2nd Master’s Degree (Defence Studies) in Management awarded by the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University where he become first in the order of merit. He attended the National Defence College, New Delhi, India which earned him the distinguished title “ndc” and was awarded a Master in Philosophy from the University of Chennai in 2012.

In recognition of his unblemished and distinguished service, Air Marshal Pathirana has been awarded with the “Vishishta Seva Vibhushanaya” and the “Uttama Seva Padakkama”. For his gallant and selfless contribution during the humanitarian operations Air Marshal Pathirana has awarded with gallantry medals on 8 occasions. Namely, “Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya” twice, “Rana Wickrama Padakkama” twice and “Rana Sura Padakkama” on four occasions.

Air Marshal Pathirana later went on to command three Air Bases, which includes a tenure as the Commandant of the Air Force Academy. He was appointed to the Air Force Board of Management in 2017 as the Director Air Operations prior to being appointed as the Commander, he served as the Chief of Staff from 2019 onwards.