WThe Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is the air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major role throughout the Sri Lankan Civil War. The SLAF operates more than 160 aircraft and has a projected trained strength of 27,400 airmen and 1,300 officers, who are from both regular and reserve service. The Sri Lanka Air Force has expanded to specialise mainly in providing air-support to ground forces, troop landing, and carrying out air strikes on rebel-held areas in the Northern and Eastern theatres, but is also capable of high- and low-level air defence.
WAir Headquarters (SLAF-HQ) is the Headquarters of Sri Lanka Air Force, located in SLAF Colombo, Slave Island, Colombo. Initially it was established in Colombo on 2 March 1951.
WThe Commander of the Air Force is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Air Force. The current Commander of the Air Force is Air Marshal Sumangala Dias. It is a position comparable to that of Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force acts as a deputy commander within the command structure.
WHelitours is a domestic airline in Sri Lanka operated by the Sri Lanka Air Force with aircraft not required for military use. It is currently the second-largest airline in Sri Lanka with a fleet of 16 aircraft behind Sri Lankan Airlines' 23. The airline dominates the RML-TRR-JAF route on a thrice-weekly basis on their Chinese-built Xian MA60 aircraft. The company slogan is Discover Serendipity.
W
WThe following is a list of bases of the Sri Lanka Air Force.
WThis is a list of aircraft squadrons of the Sri Lanka Air Force.
WThis is a list of aircraft of the Sri Lanka Air Force and the Sri Lanka Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA).
WThe Special Airborne Force (SABF) also known as Special Airborne Wing is an elite Airborne force unit of the Sri Lanka Air Force and forms part of the SLAF Regiment. It provides air assault capabilities and VVIP protection. Formed out of the Administrative Regiment Branch in 1989 by Air Vice Marshal Oliver Ranasinghe, it initially under took counter insurgency operations during the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection. In the Sri Lankan Civil War it provided VIP protection under the Chief Provost Marshal, until it was transferred to the Directorate of Ground Operations.
WThe Sri Lanka Air Force Museum is the museum of the Sri Lanka Air Force, and its predecessor, the Royal Ceylon Air Force. Open to the public, the museum is at the SLAF Ratmalana and is maintained by the Sri Lanka Air Force.
WThe Sri Lanka Air Force Regiment is a specialized ground combat corps within the Sri Lanka Air Force, responsible for capturing and defending airfields and associated installations. Its members are the SLAF Regiment Officers and the airmen of operations ground specialization. The SLAF Regiment is fully capable of protecting all its air bases, installations by itself using infantry and light armored units as well as launch air assaults with Airborne Infantry elements (paratroopers). Ground-based air defense of vital military and civil installations around the country is carried out by the SLAF Regiment along with combat search and rescue missions (CSAR). The corps itself is simply known as the 'regiment'.
WThe Sri Lanka Air Force Women's Wing was formed in 1983 which contains the female members of the air force, both airwomen and lady officers. Only unmarried women may join. Members of this wing serve in the same roles as their male counterparts, including combat roles. Women were first admitted to the Sri Lanka Air Force in 1972 when female officers joined the Volunteer Air Force. The Women's Wing was formed on 27 February 1983 with the assistance of Women's Royal Air Force (Britain). Initially, women could not become pilots. However, in 1998 women were recruited to train for the elite pilots' wing to replace losses to the Tamil Tigers in their insurgency. 800 women applied for the 33 available places to fly transport planes.
WThe Sri Lanka Volunteer Air Force (SLVAF) is the volunteer reserve element of the Sri Lanka Air Force. Its current mission is to provide trained personnel in support of the Sri Lanka Air Force, specifically No. 3 Squadron, SLAF Regiment and Airfield Construction Squadron. It is very similar to the Royal Air Force's Royal Auxiliary Air Force and the Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force of the Sri Lanka Navy.