The Sri Lanka Air Force which was established in the year 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force on a day such as today (02 March 2022) and thus celebrated 71 years of guarding the skies above our beloved mother land, Sri Lanka. The official anniversary parade was held this morning at SLAF Base Katunayake under the auspices of the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana.

Today’s anniversary parade comprised of 3 Squadrons which was commanded by Base Commander of SLAF Base Katunayake, Air Commodore Lasitha Sumanaweera. The first Squadron was commanded by Wing Commander Roshan Perera, the second Squadron by Wing Commander Prasad Kulathunga and the third Squadron by Wing Commander Nuwan Rathnayake. The Parade Adjutant was Squadron Leader Prabath Seneviratne and the Parade Warrant Officer was Master Warrant Officer UWGR Jayakodi.

During the parade the Commander made his official anniversary address to those who present at Katunayake and to the entire SLAF membership connected through a live streamed video feed which was made available to all Air Force establishments.

The Commander commenced his address by paying tribute to the past members of the SLAF who either made the supreme sacrifice or were rendered differently abled due to injuries sustained. He also paid tribute to past Commanders of the Air Force, Officers, Other Ranks and Civilians whose dedication, powered the Air Force to eradicate one of the most ruthless terrorist outfits the world that has ever seen and to bring lasting peace to our island nation. He emphasized that as member of the Sri Lanka Air Force, required to shoulder the responsibility of directly or indirectly participation in nation building. The Commander finally apprised all members of the Air Force that the necessity of shouldering responsibilities towards taking our nation forward in line with the “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendor” by empowering its quadruple objectives which are, a Productive Citizen, a Happy Family, an Obedient, Disciplined and Fair Society and a prosperous nation. He also stated that the Sri Lanka Air Force was gearing up to conquer the frontier of space in the future.