"Some six 130 mm artillery guns, four 152 mm guns and more than 20 122 mm guns and Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRL) were smuggled in. They were brought by ship and unloaded off Challai near Mullaithiv." says Karuna Amman, leader of TMVP, in an interview given to the local newspaper 'The Nation'. Read full article here.
Karuna Amman deserted the LTTE and formed his own faction 3 years ago. More than 1000 armed personnel are currently under his command. Before his desertion, he lead many successful attacks against the Sri Lankan army most natable being operation unceasing waves 1,2 and 3.
Meanwhile, LTTE shelled a large part of Jaffna city targeting both military and civilian structures today morning. 5 SLA soldiers were killed and more than 10 were wounded in the artillery strike.
LTTE artillery fire was directed at the Muhamalai entry/exit point simultaneously. Muhamalai is used to transport essential goods to civilians in the northern region.
I wouldn't trust this guy an inch. Its fine using him as a battering ram against the LTTE, but once they are kicked of of the east we wouldn't want to go through the same shit against Karuna's armed cadres.
ReplyDeleteI hope our guys know what they are getting into with all this and have things planned out.
It seems that LTTE is getting ready for another major attempt to take over Jaffna.
ReplyDeleteHey guys
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know whats happening in Thoppigala?? There is no news ??? we need to liberate east pretty soon to win the peoples harts. In vakare we new day by day whats going on in the battle field. But no big rush in thoppigala .. why is that ? offence is the best defence against the LTTE. We have to hit them hard
Hasalaka,
ReplyDeleteI have the same thought. On the other hand, lets leave the job to pros. Let them take the time they want to get the job done.
Sam agreed. The op to take Vakarai began sometime last October and was only done in January. And it was almost a complete success. Unlike the old plan of the simple front on charge this seems to make a lot more sense, and take a lot more planning.
ReplyDeleteKaruna commented on that too in the interview and agreed that thats the way to go.
Machnag sam
ReplyDeleteI know its take time. We don’t have to rush thing like what happened in MUHAMALE..
Machnag according to my navy mates .. we need those bush masters and more patrol crafts to stop the arms supply.. we cant loose any more attacking crafts at this moment
No Worries with regards to the Navy... If all goes well in the near future the Navy will have some New Craft that will keep the Sea Tigers firmly on hard ground or below water...
ReplyDeletePolitics apart,Ranil W has said that Gotabaya should be replaced by Janaka Perera as the S.O.D in a recent gathering.
ReplyDeleteLTTE also attempted on the life of Gotabaya few months back.I am confused as to what battle failures Ranil is refering to when he says that.
I think Janaka Perera too is a good soldier and there were rumours during the Vakarai battle that he(Janaka Perera) was involoved in the war in a diffrerent role.Urage Malu Uragema Age thiyala kapanawa kiyanne maekata neda
Machnag YankeeZulu
ReplyDeleteHow long we have to wait like this ??? By the time we get these 30mm weapons and new crafts how many brave solders we have to sacrifice??? Machnag we need latest system very soon …
Hasalaka,
ReplyDeleteBy getting the 30mm Bushmasters is not going to change much… it is a good weapon system but nothing that going to stop the loss of our boys… that can only happen if there is peace… Further more do you have any idea of the cost of these systems, they do not come cheap my friend. I was told one round of 30mm ammo costs US$150.00 that’s basically Rs 15,000 every time you pull the trigger. A hundred rounds would be Rs. 1.5 million + that’s just for the Ammo.
Can anyone answer this. Do out 2 Saar 4 class FMVs still have the 76mm radar directed guns installed or were they removed prior to delivery to the Sri Lankan Navy?
ReplyDeleteMachnag YankeeZulu
ReplyDeleteMachnag we all want peace full solution to this prob .. do u think bloody LTTE will agree to peace. They wont agree until they divided the country.
I don’t believe 1 ammo gonna cost 150$ unless u give me proofs .. do u have any ?
Israel agree to upgrade the whole weapon system for 15m for most of our dovras. Thats what I heard.
Look Hasalaka I was just replying to your comment “how many brave solders we have to sacrifice???” You seem to have got the wrong end of the stick… All I’m saying is that if you don’t wont our “Brave soldiers “ to die then you need peace… getting the 30mm bushmaster is not going to stop us loosing our guys… War means killing and death and it’s not one sided…
ReplyDeleteAs for the cost of the 30mm ammo you claim to know many in the navy go find out for yourself… I have no desire to prove anything to you… all I can say is that war isn’t cheap buddy…
Indunil, i'm checking on it but from what i know, the largest gun we have on our ships are the old 37/40mm guns. we dont have the 76mm in our armory. if we did there would be no sea tigers left.
ReplyDeleteSaar 4 class FMVs are equipped with a stern mounted Oto Melara 76 mm gun. The gun is mated with a fire control radar, giving the weapon lethal accuracy upto a distance of 10km. Why in the world the the SL Navy accept these ships minus the 76mm gun? Thats like getting a Doberman whitout any teeth. It can bark loud, but cant bite. What a waste.
ReplyDeleteYankeeZulu
ReplyDelete“getting the 30mm bushmaster is not going to stop us loosing our guys…”
it wont solve the problem. But it will help to minimize our casualty figures low. Cos we cant loose any more dovras. Last year we lost 6 . we only got hand full of them left.
Indunil
ReplyDeleteif your talking about the Oto Melara 76 mm Super Rapide then yes, it is fantastic gun, it can fire a 6kg shell out to 16km at a rate of 100 rounds a minute... like i said there would be no sea tigers left... unfortunately beggars cant be choosers and sadly we have to take what is given… I don’t like that fact either but that reality…
Hasalaka
ReplyDeleteYour not going to like this but some of the main reasons we lost those six dovras is because of bad command and control, lack of fighting experience and bad judgement… now don’t go ballistic on me… these are the private opinions of some of the most highly decorated Dovra captains in the navy today…
Look at the Americans in Iraq, the best equipment and training in the world but every day they lose some of their best troops and equipment…
When the STF first got their Buffel anti landmine APC from South Africa they felt safe in them… the LTTE just made bigger land mines that blew the Buffels to pieces…
Same thing when we get the 30mm the ltte will adapt to it and then we will have to upgrade again… don’t get me wrong I’m all for getting the 30mm cannons but that’s not going to be the answer…
YankeeZulu The only way the LTTE can adapt to the SLN FACs with 30mm guns is only by changing their tactics. They can not put additional armor on their boats as this would make the boats heavier, slower and reduce stability.
ReplyDeleteThey can not use 40mm guns as these weapons are a bit too big and heavy for the LTTEs FACs. SO they can change their tactics, as can we to counter the LTTEs tactics.
YankeeZulu
ReplyDeleteI agree wuth indunil. Tigers cannot make there attack crafts bigger anymore.
Bigger is not always better... do any of you boys know how much a dovra costs??? lets see who gets the price right...
ReplyDeleteI'd assume like 1 - 1.5 mil bucks apiece for the MKII. But isn't that the point?
ReplyDeleteIf we could have saved 1 (bare minimum) of the 6 dvoras we lost last year, I'm pretty sure that would have more than made up for the additional cost of the ammunition. And its not like the ammo we use now is free, so I think the difference will be worth the savings on the lost craft, and the possibility of sinking more LTTE arms vessels.
And remember, before the corruption allegations, the Navy was going to upgrade, which means their assessment too was that it will be worth the cost.
And does anyone know if we still have the ship to ship missiles we bought before the ceasefire, Gabriel IIs or something like that? They'll make things a lot easier than firing 100s of rounds to take out arms vessels.
I mean 1 - 1.5 mil US.
ReplyDelete