Elke oorlog waaraan de Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht heeft deelgenomen.
Most of the Sri Lanka Air Force’s fighting was against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam between 1983 and 2009. Casualty figures from that war are contested and are attributed: a UN Secretary-General’s panel found credible allegations that as many as 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final months, which the government rejected, calling the campaign a humanitarian operation. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From the JVP insurrection of 1971 to UN peacekeeping in the Central African Republic today.
| Conflict | Jaren | Tegen | Hoofdvliegtuig | Uitvallen | Vliegtuig verloren | |
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| De JVP-opstand van 1971the Royal Ceylon Air Force’s first combatRoyal Ceylon Air Force | 1971 | Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) | Jet Provost, Bell 206 JetRanger, Bell 47Gen nog 1 | 1 | ||
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Resupplied besieged police stations by helicopter and attacked insurgent positions with Jet Provosts. On 5 April 1971 the JVP, a Marxist movement of rural Sinhalese youth, attacked police stations across the island. The air force’s history recalls its commander, Air Commodore Paddy Mendis, three months into the job, being called to Temple Trees by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The Jet Provosts, in storage since the 1960s, were serviced and armed in three days and flew from China Bay to Katunayake attacking rebel positions on the way; JetRangers flew ammunition and supplies to isolated police stations for twelve hours a day. Help arrived from across the Cold War divide: six Indian Chetak helicopters, spares by USAF C-141, Bell 47Gs, and on 22 April five Soviet MiG-17Fs, a MiG-15UTI and two Ka-26s flown in by An-22s with about 200 Soviet personnel. Resultaat The insurrection was put down within weeks. Sorties and the air force’s own share of insurgent casualties are not published. The origin of the Bell 47Gs differs between Wikipedia articles.
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| Eelam Oorlog Ithe first phase of the civil warSri Lankaanse luchtmacht | 1983–1987 | LTTE and other Tamil militant groups | Bell 212, Bell 412, SF.260en nog 2 | |||
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Helicopter gunship and transport support to the army; from 1987 bombing with converted Y-8 transports, including during Operation Liberation (Vadamarachchi) in May 1987. The war that began in 1983 transformed a small transport-and-training service. Between 1983 and 1987 the air force grew by nearly 50 per cent, to about 3,700 personnel by 1987; it bought 11 Bell 212s, four Bell 412s, three SF.260s, two Cessna 337s, an HS 748 and two King Airs between 1983 and 1985, and more helicopters afterwards. Of about 80 aircraft, 64 were reported operational in early 1988. From 1987 Chinese Y-8 transports were used as bombers. On 4 June 1987 India dropped about 25 tons of supplies over Jaffna from five An-32s escorted by Mirage 2000s (Operation Poomalai); Sri Lanka accused India of violating its sovereignty, and its air force did not intervene. Resultaat Ended with the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of July 1987 and the arrival of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. Figures are from Wikipedia’s history of the service; the air force’s own detailed history pages are no longer online.
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| Eelam-oorlog II1990–1995Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht | 1990–1995 | LTTE | F-7, J-5, Pucaráen nog 4 | |||
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Close support, bombing, transport and casualty evacuation; the first fast jets since 1971 (F-7, J-5) and the first Pucarás and Mi-17s. After the Indian Peace Keeping Force left in 1990 the war resumed. The air force reformed No. 5 Squadron at Katunayake on 1 February 1991 with Chinese FT-5s and F-7s, and bought two J-5s; three Mi-17 transport helicopters and four Argentine Pucará attack aircraft followed in 1993. These years are among the least documented of the air war in accessible sources. Resultaat Followed by Eelam War III from April 1995. Sorties, losses and casualties for this phase were not found in the sources checked and are left blank. |
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| Eelam-oorlog IIIRiviresa, Jayasikuru and the Katunayake attackSri Lankaanse luchtmacht | 1995–2002 | LTTE | Kfir, MiG-27, Mi-24en nog 4 | |||
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Bombing and close support with Kfirs, MiG-27s, Mi-24s and Pucarás; transport to the besieged Jaffna peninsula. The LTTE opened this phase in April 1995 with a new weapon: shoulder-launched missiles, which brought down two Avro transports over the Jaffna peninsula and later Pucarás. On 9 July 1995 bombs struck a church sheltering refugees at Navaly. Human Rights Watch reported over one hundred dead and eyewitnesses blaming air force strikes, while military sources said they could not verify where the bombs came from; the ICRC’s figure rose from 65 to about 147 (as summarised by Wikipedia). The government first denied involvement. Kfirs from 1996 and MiG-27s from 2000 gave the air force a real strike force. Operation Jayasikuru (1997) was, in the air force’s words, its most arduous undertaking. On 24 July 2001 Black Tigers attacked Katunayake: TamilNet reported 13 aircraft destroyed that morning; Wikipedia lists eight military (two Kfirs, a MiG-27, a Mi-24, a Mi-17, three K-8s) and three SriLankan Airlines Airbuses. The Sunday Times put the attackers at 14. Resultaat Ceasefire agreement of February 2002. Death tolls for the Avro shoot-downs were not confirmed in the sources checked. Personnel killed at Katunayake: four airmen (TamilNet, same day) to seven service personnel (Wikipedia); attackers killed: 12 to 14.
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| Eelam Oorlog IVthe final campaign, 2006–2009Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht | 2006–2009 | LTTE | Kfir, MiG-27, F-7Gen nog 3 | |||
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Bombing, close support and interdiction with Kfirs, MiG-27s and Mi-24s; air defence against LTTE aircraft with F-7Gs and K-8s. Fighting resumed in 2006. Kfirs and MiG-27s flew daily strikes on LTTE targets; a Kfir and MiG-27 attack on a building at Kilinochchi on 2 November 2007 killed the head of the LTTE political wing, S. P. Thamilselvan, and five others, which the LTTE itself announced. Six F-7Gs arrived in 2008 to counter the LTTE’s light aircraft. The UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts (report dated 31 March 2011) found credible allegations that as many as 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final months, most by government shelling, and that the LTTE used civilians as human shields and killed those trying to flee. Sri Lanka’s Ministry of External Affairs rejected the report as fundamentally flawed. The OHCHR investigation (2015) examined violations by both parties from 2002 to 2011. Resultaat The LTTE was defeated in May 2009. The government calls the final campaign a humanitarian operation; UN bodies found credible allegations of serious violations by both sides. The panel’s findings concern shelling above all; a separate figure for air strikes was not found in the sources checked. The full UN report could not be fetched and is cited via Wikipedia’s summary and the UN page.
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| The LTTE air raidsthe Air Tigers against the SLAFSri Lanka Air Force (defending) | 2007–2009 | LTTE air wing | F-7G, K-8 | 11 | ||
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Defended its own bases against the LTTE’s air wing with anti-aircraft guns, radars, K-8 and F-7 interceptors. At 00:45 on 26 March 2007 two Czech-built Zlin Z 143s dropped four 25 kg bombs on Katunayake, killing three airmen and damaging the engineering wing and five helicopters; a K-8 scrambled but lost them over Mannar. On 22 October 2007 LTTE commandos, supported by two light aircraft, stormed Anuradhapura; the Sunday Times listed two UAVs, a Mi-17, four PT-6s, a Beech 200, a K-8 and a Mi-24 destroyed. On 9 September 2008 LTTE aircraft joined an attack on Vavuniya: the air force said an F-7 shot one down, the LTTE said it returned safely, and the Sunday Times wrote that neither claim could be verified. On 20 February 2009 two Zlins, each with 215 kg of C-4, flew on a suicide mission against air force headquarters and Katunayake; one was shot down and hit the Inland Revenue building in Colombo, the other fell to anti-aircraft fire near Katunayake. Two people died and 58 were injured. Resultaat The LTTE air wing ended with the two aircraft shot down over Colombo on 20 February 2009. Wikipedia dates the claimed F-7 kill to October 2008, the Sunday Times to 9 September 2008. Attackers at Anuradhapura: 21 (LTTE) or 27 (police investigators, per the Sunday Times). The losses_aircraft figure counts the Sunday Times list plus the Bell 212.
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| UN peacekeeping aviationMINUSCA and UNMISSSri Lankaanse luchtmacht | 2014– | Mi-17, C-130K | 0 | |||
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Mi-17 helicopters for troop movement, reconnaissance, search and rescue, casualty and medical evacuation and cargo. The first Sri Lankan aviation contingent — three Mi-17s and 122 personnel as No. 62 Helicopter Flight — left for the Central African Republic on 9 September 2014 and has flown from Bria since. The air force also sent Mi-17s to the UN mission in South Sudan, supplied by C-130 in 2016. By the air force’s count its UN work has earned the country over US$140 million in foreign exchange. Resultaat Continuing with MINUSCA; the helicopter rotation of September 2026 used a UN-chartered An-124. The end date of the South Sudan deployment was not confirmed.
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Niets komt overeen met die zoekopdracht.
Elk cijfer, gecontroleerd
- Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht: geschiedenisRCyAF opgericht op 2 maart 1951; eerste Chipmunks besteld in 1950; in 1971 in gebruik genomen; Y-12 en Y-8 toegevoegd in 1987; 21.895 vlieguren in 1997 ondanks het verlies van negen bemande vliegtuigen.
- Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht: Kfir 'Leeuwenwelp' keert na lange onderbreking met succes terug in de lucht na testvlucht (11 juni 2026)Vier Kfir C2/C7 en één TC2 worden door IAI gemoderniseerd tot Kfir C12-standaard; 10e Jachtvliegtuigeskader, Katunayake; Kfir in dienst sinds 1996.
- Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht: De SLAF zet een luchtvaarteenheid in in het kader van een VN-missie in de Centraal-Afrikaanse Republiek (september 2014).Drie Mi-17's en 122 personeelsleden als helikoptereskader nr. 62; ingezet vanaf 15 september 2014.
- Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht: Sri Aviation Unit herdenkt 12 jaar dienst in MINUSCA (11 september 2026)Eerste contingent 9 september 2014; meer dan 15.700 vlieguren; gestationeerd in Bria.
- Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht: SLAF rondt succesvol helikopterrotatie voor MINUSCA af (23 september 2026)De Mi-17 wordt op 17 september 2026 vervangen door een door de VN geleverde An-124.
- Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht: SLAF C-130 bewijst succes bij bevoorradingsmissies (maart 2016)C-130 bevoorradingsvlucht naar UNMISS (Zuid-Soedan) en MINUSCA, 20-24 maart 2016.
- Sunday Times (Sri Lanka): Situatierapport over de aanval in Katunayake (29 juli 2001)14 Black Tigers; drie Airbussen van SriLankan Airlines vernietigd en drie beschadigd.
- Sunday Times (Sri Lanka): Situatierapport over de eerste luchtaanval van de LTTE (1 april 2007)Twee Zlin Z-143's bombardeerden Katunayake om 00:45 uur op 26 maart 2007; drie bemanningsleden kwamen om het leven en zestien raakten gewond.
- Sunday Times (Sri Lanka): Situatierapport over de aanval in Anuradhapura (28 oktober 2007)Lijst van vernietigde vliegtuigen bij Anuradhapura; aantal aanvallers is omstreden (21 of 27); verliezen meer dan 1,4 biljoen Amerikaanse dollar.
- Sunday Times (Sri Lanka): Situatierapport over de luchtaanval op SP Thamilselvan (4 november 2007)Kfir- en MiG-27-aanvallen op Kilinochchi op 2 november 2007; LTTE-verklaring waarin de dood wordt bevestigd.
- Sunday Times (Sri Lanka): Situatierapport over de aanval in Vavuniya (14 september 2008)De Sri Lankaanse luchtmacht claimt een F-7 te hebben neergehaald, de LTTE beweert dat hun toestel veilig is teruggekeerd; "onafhankelijke verificatie van beide beweringen is niet mogelijk".
- Sunday Times (Sri Lanka): Tijgers gaan voor kamikaze, maar aanvallen mislukken (22 februari 2009)Twee Zlin-Z143's met elk 215 kg C-4 aan boord; één stortte neer op het gebouw van de belastingdienst, de andere werd neergeschoten nabij Katunayake; 2 doden, 58 gewonden.
- TamilNet: Spanning na inval in de vroege ochtend (24 juli 2001)De cijfers van die dag: 13 vernietigde vliegtuigen, 12 aanvallers en vier vliegers gedood.
- Human Rights Watch/Azië: Sri Lanka (juli 1995, deel 7, nr. 11)Bomaanslag op een marinekerk op 9 juli 1995; misbruik door zowel regeringsstrijdkrachten als de LTTE.
- Verenigde Naties: Panel van deskundigen van de secretaris-generaal over verantwoording in Sri LankaPanel benoemd door de secretaris-generaal; rapport uitgebracht in april 2011.
- OHCHR: Onderzoek naar Sri Lanka (OISL)Onderzoek naar schendingen door beide partijen op grond van HRC-resolutie 25/1 (2014); rapport A/HRC/30/CRP.2, september 2015.
Cijfers geverifieerd op 30-09-2026. Back to the Sri Lanka Air Force.