A team of Sri Lankan military personally are currently evaluating a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) in India, which could be gifted to Sri Lanka in future.
By Asiri Fernando
A team of Sri Lankan military personally are currently evaluating a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) in India, which could be gifted to Sri Lanka in future.
Air Force pilots, engineers and Navy air navigators and technical officers are part of this delegation in Cochin, South India, military sources told Times Online.
The delegation is evaluating a Dornier 228 Maritime Patrol Aircraft which is designed in Germany and manufactured in India.
The evaluation comes in the backdrop of the Air Force recently reactivating its No.3 Maritime Squadron at China Bay airbase in Trincomalee.
Air surveillance and maritime patrol capability has been a long identified priority by the Air Force due to the need to watch Sri Lanka's vast maritime borders. At present the Air Force can only field one specialized aircraft for patrolling duties at sea.
Earlier this year, foreign reports indicated that the Indian government was keen to respond to Sri Lanka’s request to assist in developing air maritime surveillance capability in the island. India had donated a similar aircraft to the Maldives few years ago.
Indian Navy and Coast Guard Dornier 228's have visited Sri Lanka for several training exercises in the recent past. The Indian Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard use this aircraft for MPA and reconnaissance roles.
The transfer of the aircraft has been discussed between both countries since early this year as the Sri Lankan military is desperately trying to plug gaps concerning maritime domain awareness (MDA).
During last year’s Galle Dialogue 2018 defence seminar, former Navy Commander Vice Admiral S. Ranasinghe, cited that a maritime patrol aircraft is "an urgent operational need" to improve MDA.
According to defence sources, the Navy has expressed interest in establishing a joint maritime air surveillance mechanism with the Air Force. Both the Navy and the Air Force engage in search and rescue operations at sea.
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