Tuesday, July 24, 2007

LTTE sea tiger leader critically wounded

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)'s sea going arm suffered a major setback on the 18th when a boat explosion critically wounded their leader, Soosei (codename Oska-Sera). The explosion occurred in Nanthikadal lagoon when a sea tiger training exercise was in progress. 

Soosei received serious injuries when an explosive laden boat near his command vessel suddenly exploded. Soosei's son (Shankar) and his bodyguard are reported to have been killed in the explosion. Unconfirmed reports from the Mullaithiv LTTE controlled territory suggest that a Sri Lanka Army (SLA)'s special Deep Striking squad (not part of 3SF) was behind the incident.

Meanwhile, army's limited offensive to neutralize LTTE mortars near Mannar FDL has been met with severe resistance. However 4 and 8 man specialized infantry squads have been able to destroy at least 2  LTTE heavy mortar positions in the region. A 4 man Special Forces team who went MIA few days ago have also reported to base on Saturday (21st). Much of the army casualties in these offensives have been caused by Artillery strikes (LTTE is known to have placed a 122mm artillery gun in close proximity to Madhu shrine) and land mines.

200 comments:

  1. Inone article i read (cant remember the source) it says this was done by prabhakaran due to a dispute between them about thoppigala defeat.

    Whats the truth behing them?

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  2. This whole incident is a mystery... surely, it cant be an accidental explosion. Like Defencenet has stated, it could be the result of some highly covert operation.

    Defencenet, I guess you must have got some real proof about this attack, right? Otherwise you would not have published this article.
    Would be very interesting to know how the attack was executed! ;-)

    I would loooooooove to hear that Soosai is dead or that he is so badly wounded that he would not return to battle for a very long period. I guess now is the best time to carry out a planned surprise attack on one of the main sea tiger camps or any other enemy target.

    Anyway, happy hunting for the deep striking units of the SLA.

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  3. if this is accurate...it's great news. although this guy haven't had that many sucesses in the recent past...he was one of the reasons ltte is so strong today...
    if it's a job by special ops...that out of this world great news. sungoat must be wetting his pants :)

    DefNet...
    Many times we've read that most our casualties came from arty fire...isn't there any way to find tiger arti spots and take them out remotely without sending ground forces? I've heard that SLAF finds it difficult to take em out since tigers are moving them out fast...
    can't we also fire our artis after finding the coordinates with radar or something?
    Sorry if it's a stupid question...google is good but not that good :)

    anything new on the bus bombing :(

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  4. Is this Deep Striking Squad different from the DPU/LRRPs which I understood were part of 3/SF?

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  5. I have a feeling that these attacks are carried out by certain members of the LTTE itself, ofcourse with high influence of the sri lankan military intelligence.
    More of a "Mole" type attack...

    Oh! heard that about 10 are dead in the bus attack... :-(

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  6. Praba must be counting his days too. Must have got his goose bumps up after this news.
    Get the big F**** then it would be checkmate.

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  7. Yes now or never HIT THE HEAD AT ALL COST...
    Great work SF guys

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  9. Maxa News, Mariyan Apathaya. Great to hear about our guys. DPU , Good Job !

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  10. "this was done by prabhakaran due to a dispute between them about thoppigala defeat"

    Yes there was a Dispute between Prabhakaran and Ramesh (this was before army captured Vakarai). And Soosei was closely associated with Ramesh and(they were relations) therefore he too was a marked man. We do not know if the MI took advantage of the situation.

    "Defencenet, I guess you must have got some real proof about this attack, right? Otherwise you would not have published this article.
    Would be very interesting to know how the attack was executed! ;-)"

    Well we can confirm that Soosei was injured. But the method of attack or the people who are involved in it are all based on unconfirmed reports. The DPU team that is supposed to be behind the attack is something similar to the old Mahasohon Brigade. So this could very well look like an internal dispute of the LTTE (as mentioned before, maybe MI did take advantage of an internal dispute). Squads like Mahasohon brigade operate in utmost secrecy so the details are blurry.

    One thing to note is that Soosei is not dead. He's seriously injured but still lives. But this is a huge morale buster for the LTTE.

    "isn't there any way to find tiger arti spots and take them out remotely without sending ground forces?"

    There is a way to pinpoint the location of the artillery using army's FireFinder (artillery detecting radar). This has been used successfully few times in 2006 and 2007 (once in the Vakarai offensive and several times in 2006 Jaffna battle).

    But most tiger artillery in their main bases (Pooneryn, Elephan Pass) are placed in subterranean hangars. This makes it extremely difficult to counter the artillery using firefinder radar.

    david,
    Yes it is not a part of 3SF. However we cannot confirm it was this squad which detonated the boat. This is unconfirmed as of yet. DPU team which blew up the so called Tamil Eelam Health services vehicles were not part of 3SF too.

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  11. DefenceNet, so are there two such units, DPU/LRRPs from 3/SF and this other unit? What is this other unit called? And are they part of the SF?

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  12. Sorry DefenceNet any news about the casualty figures in the army bus explosion this afternoon?- 9 dead 8 seriously injured-is that correct?

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  13. DefenceNet,

    Other than the SF DPU's, dose the Navy SBS carry out LRRP/DPS work?

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  14. If DPU is responsible for this, the army should have been more cautious - they know some form of retaliation is in the offing. Such precautions could have saved the lives we lost today. I think, the Delkanda bomb was also a part of tiger retaliation. So, the correlation is now clear: every DPU attack means a form of claymore attack targetting military or civilians in the south. People must be alerted to this threat by the media, especially at these times. Well done DPU!

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  15. DefenceNet, what is the news about Swarnam now ? Is he dead or crippled beyond 'use' ?

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  16. THe LTTE is trying to provoke us to attack wanni-have they got a few traps prepared for the troops.. i wonder

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  17. DefNet...thanks for the info on ltte arty... din't know they use subterranean hangars as arti launchpads...

    so there are other highly specialized units than the LRRP and DPU...
    never head of this "mahason brigade"
    must be operating deep inside enemy territory...possibly working along with ltte etc??? very interesting stuff...
    Hope someday general public will get to know the real heroes behind all these ops and what they have done for the country :)

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  18. good scene!if the report is confrmd im xtremely happy about it! now is the time to launch more attacks possibly a combined op on sea tiger bases alon the chalai-mullativu stretch!a beach landing could be done.of couse heavy enemy gun positions have to be neutralized prior!.we could paradrop special forces within tiger territory & create havoc on them!go DPU! GO!

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  19. "never head of this "mahason brigade""

    It was the squad whose identities were revealed in the Millenium City raid (betrayal of the century). As a result we lost lives of more than 80 intelligence personnel who put their lives on the line for the country.

    "what is the news about Swarnam now ?"

    He was seriously injured in a SLAF raid during Vakarai offensive. It's now speculated he escaped to Wanni.

    david, nemesis,
    Yes SLA do have specially trained units that can move into enemy territory and blend in with the enemy (sometimes temporarily join them, if the plan is long term). These squads are not part of the Special forces LRRPs. Unlike LRRP, specialized DPU units exist merely for one purpose; infiltration. They are not used for simple recon missions like LRRP (LRRP is kind of a multi purpose unit which can operate as DPU or engage in conventional warfare) Not much information is available on these units and their existence is not confirmed by the army.

    srilankan,
    the casualty details of the bus bomb is around 10 KIA and another 8 more wounded.
    We badly need jammers for all SLA transports.

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  20. Thanks DefenceNet-When you have the time...We cannot afford to loose our troops at this rate.During say 2002 it was 5 killed per day. now it has almost doubled.Why isnt the army equiping transports like busses with jammers?.Am i correct in thinking that it is only a simple electronic device?.If the army engineers can easily build them and cheaply.

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  21. "mahason brigade" - Was n't this unit (Millenium City) info been given out by one traitor (Namely Udugampola).
    It's a shame he's still living after what he has done for the security in Sri Lanka.

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  22. Lankan military engineers already manufacture mine blockers, so jammers at low cost can also be made if they give an effort in that direction.

    I think the best methods to crush LTTE artillery in subterrean hangars is to locate them with our fire-finding radars when they fire at our troops. I bet they withdraw into the underground hangars near by quickly after firing. The fire-finding radars will give us a a decent estimate of the area where the was fire came from. The under gound hangar must be close by to where the LTTE artillery eas fire from. Sent Mig-27s armed with bunker buster bombs and pound that area to a pulp by turning the that spot of land upside down. I think this way we can crush the underground hangars for the LTTE artillery as they will cave-in when bombarded with bunker busters.

    Thats my solution.

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  23. I also believe our army needs more fire-findings radars to give them an edge in pitched land battles against the LTTE. China manufactures some cool types fire-finding radars.

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  24. do we have FAE type bunker busters???
    Even if we find a rough area for the ltte arti gun positions i doubt that sort of accuracy is good enough for an aerial bombardment with free fall bombs...
    Unless we also bomb like the americans using b52's then yeah :)

    DefNet
    M.city raid was such a bad incident that never should've happened. not in a country with such grave threats of terrorism. sadly those responsible are still free and denying responsability :(

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  25. Last I heard was that Lanka has brought some bunker busters from Pakistan/China. I think we are saving them to target VP and his bunker.

    I agree bombarding the area of the artillery hangar with free fall bombs in useless and not very effective. I bet these artillery hangars are reinforced with concrete. Thats why we need bunker-buster bombs. So we need to buy more bunker buster bombs.

    The LTTE has about 30 big artillery guns. If we can destroy these within a year using accurate aerial bombardments it will be a huge blow to the LTTE.

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  26. This is the happiest new I heard within this year . This made my Day.

    keep up your good work 3SF/LRRP/DPU

    We salute you Heros

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  27. GE...fair point. But doesn't bunker buster type bombs needs to be placed at the right spot...meaning "accuracy"
    If we know the coordinates for sungoat's bunker...why haven't we already bombed it?
    I aint no expert...read lots of janes and journals from my uncle :) plus the usual googling make me think that we need bombs with a large impact radius to counter accuracy issues...
    like cluster bombs... there the hitch is that the areas we bomb are so close civilians we can't take a chance :(
    There's gotta be a way to counter those arties...

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  28. Ranil

    Lanka already has laser guided bombs. Our jets are capable of carrying laser guided bombs.

    I heard someone say sometime ago that lanka manufactures PGMs(precision guided munitions) for our airforce. These bombs are more accurate than your average free fall bomb. I don't know if this is true. If someone could check up on this it would be great.

    Lanka already has brought accurate(laser guided) bunker buster bombs. But we only have a handful, we need to buy more if we are to eliminate the lTTE long range artillery threat.

    VP is very elusive, I bet if our armed forces knew where he was hiding we would have bombarded that area already with our bunker busters.

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  29. guys,there is no point in buyin more & more advanced weapons if our guys cannot properly use them.that is,they are not trained to do so.this will only create more commis kaakas.for instance,that shitter gotabhaya.he's makin millions under the pretext of running a govt owned trading co!!my foot!

    comin back to weapons,whatever happened to the thermobaric weapons? there was a big hu & cry wen it was recovered in millenium city? apparently they are beyond use as they have expire their shelf life!!.another example is some of our 152mm arti-guns backfiring & blowing up!thereby killing the user not for whom it was intended.take the american scenario.how long is that bush fellow tried to find bin laden? still searching,apparently!!wit all the us's satellite,thermal imaging etc bin laden remains as elusive as ever!!.

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  30. defencenet
    Do SLSF's have a research and Anaysis(engineering) section to develope weapon systems in order to manufacture them locally.

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  31. War is always horrific. But the world history has proved that only way to achieve peace is war. Heroes of our earlier generations have sacrificed their lives to save us a better world. In the world wars entire cities were destroyed and thousands and thousands were killed. People tolerated heavy sufferings in order to achieve peace. But the war continued until the victory. Otherwise today all the Europe or even the whole world might be under Hitler.

    But in Sri Lanka some people wanted short cuts to achieve peace by going for so called peace talks. That is why we are still having a war and an enemy stronger than ever before.

    So what we have to do today is support the war until it is finished without mourning and opposes any kind of peace talks ever again.

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  32. Vijitha,

    Yes there is. thts where the prof. Munindradasaa workd at.. Unfortunately hes no more.. but we know they are more individuals like him toserve for motherland. do u guys know that the SLAF made UAVs indigenously? they are building UAVs which got something Similar to Micropilot Autopilot system and Navi system..

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  33. ruslan
    Happy to hear that.
    Thanks for infor.

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  34. Does anyone have a picture of the UAVs manufactured in lanka? Lanka's indigenious militray hardware industry is slowly but surely moving forward.

    Better late than never.

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  35. Secondly.. After Hambanthota shipyard built, Government is Planing to build a Shipyard with dry dock capabilities which will be able to build larger ships. thats why we getting hands with Chinese here.. Later we can see our Navy with Better Capabilities.. after 2009 our Maritime Boundaries getting bigger it seems.. : ) i think the government Understand that Island like Ourselves needs a Good capable Navy.. Even from the ancient times we are good Shipbuilders in the region don't we?

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  36. ruslan here's a little fact:

    In ancient times the sinhalese were known as capable ship builders. According to ancient Chinese wrintings(circa 100 AD) at one point the "Lion Island" was known to produced the largest ships in all of Asia capable of carrying 500-700 men abroad.

    The ancient Sinhalas were also masters of amphibious warfare. Often soldiers would get into smaller boats from their larger war ships to launch an amphibious assault. These smaller boats had a row of rectangular shields attached to both sides of the boats to protect the soldiers in the boats from enemy arrows during the amphibious assault.

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  37. The Hambantota harbour is really important to lanka's future. Building larger ships is a real possibility after the shipyard is completed. Maybe then we can start building large naval vessels capable of carrying out proper surveillance of the seas.

    Plus they are also building a large oil refinery worth $1 billion along with the harbour.

    Plus the Colombo harbour is also set to be expanded in size. cool huh?

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  38. GoldenEagle,

    Yours is the kind of thinking we want for our country. We should dream big and try to make them come true. At least we will get somewhere closer to our grand goals.

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  39. LTTE attacked Sinhala villages and SLA camps (like Kajuwaththa) very frequently before Sampur and Vakare get cleared. And now they have started the same thing in Mannar and Vavnia. What kind of startergy is this? What does LTTE expect from this? They want more troops to put these areas and delay any offensive to wanni? OR They expect too early offensive to wanni? OR they want to attack Jaffna?

    I have a question for Defencenet. I thought it was JVP propaganda to say milenium city is a betreyal. That mahasohon balakaya operated deep in north; Why they need a safe house in Athurugiriya? If they are smart enough to operate deep inside tiger areas how come get cought by a stupid "dog section" cop? Why they couldn't save their people after the incident? I know I can be wrong and even these questions are a pain.(sorry)

    BTW, just check this for fun, not a military related thing.
    http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/6679

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  40. ccc,

    You may find some relevant information at http://lankalibrary.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=627

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  41. DefenceNet

    Any news about the Soosei condition???

    Im really really happy to hear this news .. he was the master mind behind all these successful sea tiger attacks in the past. Including the one that killed my mates late left comm Mudeep panditharathne in last September.

    This is the best time for the airforce guys to attack sea tiger positions and put there moral down.

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  42. Soosai was known to have been pissed off by tamilchelva and pottu being placed higher in the organizational hierarchy above him. In the aftermath comes in sonny tiger from abroad with a degree in aeronautics, and is rumored to be made heir-apparent, which would hurt the feelings of all else.

    Given this scenario, it is only a matter of time before the gooks kill each other openly.

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  43. For those who value history; in or around 300AD, the Sinhala king's navy embarked on a long-distance attack, to bring the kingdom of Burma under control. After losing half its fleet in storms in the Bay of Bengal, the naval force landed, marched a few hundred miles thru dense jungles and burned a major part of the capital city to the ground.
    The attack was apparently in retaliation for the King of Burma refusing to pay his annual ransom. (kappam)
    Source: CIA Library, USA.

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  44. Soosai must be sorry Ranil isn't in power.

    Could have received treatment at the Nawaloka on government account, like that other monkey.

    Aandawane...he must be thinking.

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  45. Heard some discussion abt the thermobarric weapons,
    Defencenet, are they still used by our forces, they seem to be ideal weapons for SF teams to deliver a devastating punch to the enemy. Are they still being used?

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  47. there's more than one way to skin a cat. if you recall the cia's attempts to kill castro, they tried some very innovative experiments..like exploding cigars and poisoned chocolate milkshakes (apparently two of his favourite things in life!). might it also be possible to knock off the ltte leadership in such mundane but clever ploys as these? the best kills should be innocuous and precise. it would not be surprising if MI opts for more subtle methods of decapitation in future.

    But i suppose to do this they will have to build a network of spies inside the LTTE itself. Not easy.

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  49. what we need is more tamils on our side (something like the cuban exiled community in miami). if we had that sort of a lot of these ops could be accomplished.

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  50. The Myth of the Invincible Terrorist

    By Christopher C. Harmon

    Vulnerabilities of an elusive enemy


    [http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/6848137.html]


    "Former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger posed a question in an article a few years back: “Can We Assassinate the Leaders?” His answer was that we can and should assassinate some terror leaders. Whether death by martial or judicial means is necessary, and whether rendering death is even as prudent as capturing a terror group leader, are other questions. What is clear is that decapitation strategies might indeed work. In some cases, they have. The approach uses the terrorist group’s most apparent strength against it; if “the great leader” is the center of gravity, then when he is imprisoned, so is the movement.

    In the case of the guerrilla and terrorist supergroup “Tamil Tigers,” ltte of Sri Lanka, it is evident that founder and leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, is the center of gravity, or “the hub of all power and movement,” as Clausewitz wrote. A formidable organization under his control, with elaborate finance and logistical networks, a fierce army, a navy, capable suicide bombers, etc. — yet it could all dissipate without Prabhakaran. Members swear loyalty to him, not to ltte, or the concept of a free land of the Tamils. The clan of the Tigers could dissolve were he killed, or jailed and publishing a plea for peace (as Guzman and Ocalan both did from jail). The master of ltte apparently has no designated successor. Tamil nationalism is not so strong that it could be certain of holding its militant and terrorist form in his absence. .."

    good article.

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  51. http://www.hoover.org/
    publications/policyreview/
    6848137.html

    godamn these blogs

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  52. Jiffy, don't forget that all the US' attempts to kill Castro, and in fact the CIA was largely unsuccessful at high level political assassination during the Cold War (unlike their enemies).

    And you're right that to get someone in close enough to kill VP (exploding lobster?) we have to have agood network inside the LTTE and the NE Tamil community. But to develop that (and to get Tamils on our side) the GoSL must seem like a viable alternative or able to offer attractive incentives and good protection of turncoats. Right now, the GoSL isn't helping its case by evicting Tamils from Colombo, arresting people, etc. Neither has it demonstrated its ability to protect even its own, never mind turncoats. Incentives like money and a new life (which was what the USSR turned US and British spies) won't work 'cos individuals will fear that the LTTE will find them wherever they go. Karuna would never have dared defect if he didn't have his own army to protect him.

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  53. well yeah that's the thing, none of those ploys worked! but imagine if we could get VP with an exploding lobster! priceless.

    terrible business this thing called war.

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  54. Well, it's all about delivery, so if the military can't cultivate the Tamils in LTTE areas (and they don't seem to be doing it), no cigar.

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  55. so what will work then? they don't want money, .and a political solution acceptable to them will take ages..so what will work in the interim? we need the insider info righ now. could we ship them off overseas under some kind of witness protection program?

    and one other thing. sometime ago a sri lankan politican (maybe UNP) was telling the army not to talk with the LTTE ('fraternise' might be a btter word). now my memory is poor regarding the context of this media statement, but thinking back on it i wonder if the 'talking' he was referring to might have been vutal MI work. so my question is, are the politicians impinging on the army's intelligence gathering efforts. but like i say this politicans comments may not have been about this.

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  56. Well, if you wanna cultivate spies (as well as the common Tamils) you have to give them what they want. Just cash or a life overseas alone won't work. They need to be convinced that the GoSL cause is true, and that they're not being traitors to their people. Then the money and a new life will be the extra push.

    I guess politicians will always interfere, but the present trend of blaming the UNP for all military failings is a bit unrealistic. Remember that the int work that resulted in the TMVP breakaway was started during the UNP time, and most likely with Ranil's knowledge.

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  57. Even if the LTTE survives another 20 - 30 years, they'd still be a force which denies economic and social welfare to the people under their control. The only reward by association will be fear and retribution.

    You can never hold human beings to hostage for that long. It is the relative ignorance of the captive population that has allowed them to do so until now. That cannot and will not be in their favor for long. As prosperity and normalcy prevails in other areas of the world and more and more tamils start to realize their own suffering due to this war, it will become more untenable.

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  58. the politician was a bald headed guy; had a raspy voice and looked like a bit of tough guy. this was maybe around mid 2006. he chastised officers on FDLs for making contact with the enemy without prior government approval, telling them to "let the government worry about negotiations". any idea what this was all about david?

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  59. David,

    "I guess politicians will always interfere, but the present trend of blaming the UNP for all military failings is a bit unrealistic. Remember that the int work that resulted in the TMVP breakaway was started during the UNP time, and most likely with Ranil's knowledge."

    That was funny. Ranil never held the position of Minister of Defence. It was President Kumarathunga who held that portfolio. Perhaph, Defencenet can educate us on how Karuna's saga took place.

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  60. We need to fit thick metal plates to buses carrying troops and deploy jammers to avoid remote claymore detonation.

    These are simple stuff.

    Why GOSL is not doing that?

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  61. C'mon people get real. I don't we can execute VP using an exploding lobster(or any other food items) The guy probably has a food taster like Saddam had.

    The LRRP/DPU are the best bet to seal the deal and get rid of this thug.

    The thermobaric weapons brought by the army sometime ago was the 93mm Russian RPO-A Shmel (bumblebee). Its a single-shot disposable(unlike RPGs) man portable weapon. Lanka brought about 1000 of them.

    This thermobaric weapon is good for clearing our bunkers and other enemy fortifications.

    Recently the Chinese made a thermobaric warhead for the RPG. This thermobaric warhead is called the WPF 2004(max range 200m). This new chinese warhead would be great for the army for it is cheap and packs a enough punch to destroy bunkers, enemy buildings or collapse a multi-story while killing all inside.

    The US army fears that this new cheap chinese thermobaric warhead will show up in Iraq and wreck havoc.

    Bulgaria also makes a thermobaric warhead for the RPG, fir more info go to:

    "http://www.janes.com/defence/land_forces/news/jidr/jidr010104_2_n.shtml"

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  63. Hey guys need some info here. I saw this article on the BBC:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2007/07/070725_ranil_soldiers.shtml

    The last paragraph interested me! Does anyone on the blog have a clue about these 'security bunkers'?

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  64. GoldenEagle,

    The Chinese RPG thermobaric round seems to be in use with our SF boys already! Look at the pics from Vahkari.... :)

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  65. nemasis

    Could you post a link for the pictures? I would like to see this.

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  66. "http://www.janes.com/defence/land_forces/
    news/jidr/jidr010104_2_n.shtml"

    Bulgaria Thermo RPG round

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  67. If anyone wants to see a picture of the new Chinese WPF 2004 thermobaric round for the RPG-7 got to:

    "http://www.militaryphotos.net/
    forums/showthread.php?p=2648601"

    Its the first pic.

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  68. guys,

    Our SF unit with MR in vakarai, the guy next to MR is holding a RPG launcher with a Chinese Thermobaric grenade. In his pack he has a Type-69 Air burst HE round.

    Check this link:

    http://sundaytimes.lk/070204/images/col5.jpg

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  69. Nemasis

    You are right, that is the WPF 2004 thermobaric round. To be honest with you, I did not expect our forces to quickly acquire this weapon. Good see the armed forces thinking ahead and buying important weapons. Finally we are buying smartly.


    How did you know that our forces already brought the WPF 2004 round for our RPGs?

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  70. Any ideas why small groups of LTTE cadres keep attacking army at Madhu?.could it be to findout what areas the guns are covering or the deployment of the troops?

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  71. Madu - LTTE wants to get PR and escalate the conflict around Madu Shrine. This is to gain sympathy of the Catholic IC.

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  72. Hi all

    Yesterday I spoke to some friends in the Navy. We need to have more powerful Jammers for all SL forcers transport in north and east. Its very sad to see the dick heads like mervin silva (most of MPs) buying 20 million work of fancy cars and our brave solders dying with out enough equipment’s cos the government dosent have enough money.

    Defense Net
    Why cant our research and development teams can get top class intelligent students and professors from katubadda and make our own one????? Its not rocket science rite ???

    We need it so badly guys…

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  73. It is expected thousands of poelpe to come into the Colombo city for the UNP rally in Colombo. Is there any plan to avoid tigers using this chance to deliver explosives, etc?

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  74. Anyone knows the size of a bomb which is shown in defence.lk? (sea-mine)What is the weight? What kind of damage it can do?

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  75. defencenet,

    you mentioned that the fire finder radar cannot be used effectively to counter LTTE artillery in subterranean hangars. Does that mean the fire finders cant locate the firing position of the artillery pieces or is it difficult to take them out after we find the location of those hangars?

    How does the terrorists use these hangars? Is it used just to store the artillery or do they have an opening to fire the guns from inside the hangars? (I do not know whether its practical because of heating, maybe with built in cooling ducts it might be possible?)

    As far as i can see one of the main problems the army is facing is the artillery strikes from the LTTE. If we can neutralize these, then the army would be able to reduce their losses significantly.

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  76. Goldeneagle,

    I made a visual recognition...and
    I keep my eyes n ears peeled ;)

    Mean while, the Chinese are eager to get their weapon systems "battle tested" and gain recognition for them. We should be wise to exploit this situation and get the right stuff for our needs.


    Hasalaka,

    Our Forces do make RF jammers, but as usual R&D is not given its due place in SL. The forces and our Uni's got some great brains. It's just that few take them seriously and encourage them. They are poorly funded. A US build RF/Cellular Spectrum Jammer (like the ones sent to Iraq)cost around $ 28000 each, we can make them in SL for much less. I fully agree with your case of careless spending. It's a shame.


    CCC

    It weighs 30Kg, and is a moored mine by the looks of it. The "bulb" device is probably a crude contact initiated detonator system . Crude but cost effective and would get the job done. 30kg of RDX or Comp-4 would do serious damage to an aluminum hull of a FAC, to an IPC it would be devastating! Even if the mines didn’t work, and we disarmed all of them. The Mines creates a physiological tool agent the navy and Sri Lanka's Maritime operations as a whole!

    Interestingly some of the first ships in the R.Cy.Navy and SL Navy were minesweepers! Food for thought, as we look to the future whiles SL strives to become a Maritime "Hub" to cash in on all the commercial shipping around the Island.

    ReplyDelete
  77. CCC

    A navy buddy once said that the dvoras in particular are very vulnerable even to a single strike by a weapon as small as RPG, since all systems are electrically driven, which means that if the engines stall, the ship is a dead duck. A mine with 30kgs would be fatal even if it explodes in close proximity of such a vessel, causing an engine stall.

    ReplyDelete
  78. TropicalStorm,

    Do you know if the Navy still has any Mine/Counter Mine capability?
    It seems that since the late 70's the navy has steadily let its ASW and Mine warfare capability rust.

    May be our boys can come up with some simple mine sweeping system. This Sea Mine Issue could become a major pain in the neck for our ports and Navy!

    ReplyDelete
  79. Sometime ago there was speculation specially in Indian media that the LTTE hierarchy would attempt to cross over to India in the event of an outright assault on K'nochchi. For this purpose, they were said to be keen to keep the Manna coast clear of SLN and Indians. There seems to be some validity to this, based on the amount of concern the Indians are having, enough to deploy additional naval assets and intelligence & surveillance equipment.

    DefNet; Is there any truth to a rumor of a few months ago that certain LTTE high rankers have contacted the govt and asked for deals to get out of the gang and disappear abroad with the g'tee that they will not be prosecuted for human rights violations etc?

    ReplyDelete
  80. Sorry Nemesis. I've been abroad for too long now and have lost most of the valuable contacts I had then.

    ReplyDelete
  81. http://lankalibrary.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3664&sid=b8120d6f33dcc0535e2e18e1d1ca2aa3

    This is from another source which confirms the original story..

    ReplyDelete
  82. "Does that mean the fire finders cant locate the firing position of the artillery pieces or is it difficult to take them out after we find the location of those hangars?"

    Fire finders can detect artillery placed in hangars. But countering them using SLAF/artillery is much more difficult.

    "How does the terrorists use these hangars? Is it used just to store the artillery or do they have an opening to fire the guns from inside the hangars?"

    There is an opening to fire the gun. Only the tip of the gun is visible most of the time.

    And yes the SF uses Thermobaric RPG rounds.

    ReplyDelete
  83. Nemesis

    Thanx mate. Look like u knows a lot …

    Why cant we hire some satellite( which have infrared) from Israel or Ukraine to track down LTTE heavy gun positions and there main camps (like 1-4 base).
    Then we can use the Airforce to do the maximum damage to the terra.
    My friends in the forces say the UAV is not the best cos the tigers can see them in the sky. How close we can take the images from this UAVs ??? not the beach crafts..

    One thing I know .. we have to use the modern weapon systems when we step in to Vanni.

    ReplyDelete
  84. From what I have heard that the LTTE claymores are set off mostly by mobiles, so jamming would need to target the GSM frequencies.
    I personally believe there are other effective ways to detect potential bombs by applying some statistical analysis techniques on the location data of the mobile phones. Mobile phone locations can be determined to a certain extent if there is more than one tower in range, and combined with some risk profiling of the owners, phones that stay stationery near roads should raise some alerts. Not sure how practical it is, but worth a try.

    ReplyDelete
  85. when i think of the LTTE..i remember the movie;INDEPENDANCE DAY
    Here pres(VP) asks Alien(MR):Cant we share resources.
    Alien:no
    VP:what do you want us to do
    MR:Dieee Diee

    ReplyDelete
  86. Hi all

    There is a very sad video clip in the defence.lk website. I feel really sorry for the people living in the border villages. These people are no different to our brave solders.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Fully agree with the others that it is a shame there is no money to buy the best devices and gear needed to protect our forces, but ministers can afford to buy luxury cars. There was an article in Sunday Times about the money being wasted by executives in Mihin Air.
    Any truth in the rumors that if RW comes to power he will start a new airline? Pon-air? Sorry couldn't resist that :-)

    ReplyDelete
  88. May the triple gem bless that poor women and those 2 boys.It is a tragedy that other people have occupied parts of her land.

    ReplyDelete
  89. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  90. Greetings everyone!

    I am new to the forum. Glad to see a few people who seem quite knowledgeable on the subject matter.. This brings me to my first question to you folks.

    It appears LTTE artillery/mortar is the main threat to our infantry. If this is the case, why is it not possible to use an ordinary off the shelf Infra-red camera mounted on an aircraft to do surveillance and pin-point the locations at night? I would imagine heat signature left by heated artillery/mortar barrels could be easily spotted using a normal IR device. Presumably the aircraft is forced to fly at a very high altitude. Even then, could you not magnify the image in someway using ordinary magnifying device? I realise specailised equipment can cost an arm and a leg. That is why I use the word "ordinary" quite a bit. :-)

    cheers

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  91. Panhinda,
    Whether it's possible or not is a moot point.

    My opinion is these things should be tried out.

    Aluth Aluth de nothanana Jaathiya lova nonagee!

    At least we must come close to that.

    ReplyDelete
  92. It was a damn shame to have soldiers killed in the same way as the navy personnel a few weeks ago.

    This must be addressed and not allowed to happen a third time.

    anybody have any crazy ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  93. Very interesting article on Landmine clearance

    http://tinyurl.com/ywd5ng

    ReplyDelete
  94. I agree with Kiri and many in the forum that if you do not innovate, you would face dire consequences.

    There are millions of ways to kill, and mainly GOSL is in the other side, where GOSL has to find protection from the millions of ways of killing.

    It is easier to innovate to kill. But it is not easy to innovate to protect.

    But, GOSL should create a strong R&D arm in defence front.

    If being a government Minister make someone rich to buy 20M car, and there is no money to buy or develop simple jammers, then there is an issue.

    Even a used mobile phone can be modified to be a jammer.

    It will not cost more than Rs. 10,000 each to build jammers using components found in the open market (component cost is about Rs 5000).

    ReplyDelete
  95. noltte=peace how do you know a jammer will cost just 10,000?

    ReplyDelete
  96. One thing I really liked about MR was that when he became prez he quickly established a simple R&D sector to develop military hardware for our forces. Its a start.

    It took 22 years into a bloody civil war for a president to come along to establish a simple R&D sector to develop some for of military equipment for our forces. CBK was useless as were all those before her in regard to this issue. MR is the best prez to come along in a looooong time.

    ReplyDelete
  97. Sri Lankan,

    Take a 1W Jammer in the market.. Open it.. make a list of items.. search the prie for each item in the internet. Less than $50.00

    ReplyDelete
  98. goldeneagle-However at election time people will forget-I hope i will be proven wrong

    ReplyDelete
  99. noltte=peace..why dont the people who have broken radios/tv's just hand them over so the parts can be used?

    ReplyDelete
  100. I agree with you kiri. You do not need a lot of funds if you put your mind to it. Simple improvising and a bit common sense and creativity is all that is needed in most cases. LTTE does it all the time. This is why they survive to this day. Its unfortunate but we have to face the reality.

    Also someone will find this picture interesting. These were taken by LTTE during Muhmulai battle. It looks like 122mm artillery. Notice the angle, its horizonal!!

    http://www.eelavision.com/?photo=8950
    http://www.eelavision.com/?photo=8967

    LTTE Motar position in a ditch.
    http://www.eelavision.com/?photo=8963

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  101. Developing Jammers should be an R&D exercise..

    We can use test equipment at Universities and TRC to test the signal.. and need to do field tests too before putting a jammer out.

    Terrorists also will also will constantly innovate, and therefore R&D team also has to constantly innovate.

    It should be combined effort of Jammers, fortified buses, intelligence, vigilane etc.

    ReplyDelete
  102. With regards to the LTTE heavy artillery hiding in underground hangar issue I have an idea.

    Since LTTE only has about 30 of these heavy artillery guns(120mm,130mm,152mm) even a loss of one gun is a huge blow to them. Lets all understand that.
    ---------------------------
    My idea is when the LTTE fire their guns from the underground hangars we can read the fire-finding radars which gives us a rough estimate where the fire is coming from.

    Once we locate the area where the enemy fire in coming from, we will bring in one of our RM-70 multi barrel rocket launchers which will aim carefully and fire a full slavo of 40 x 122m rockets all at the same time. A full salvo of 122mm rockets will definately cover OVER 1 square acre with its destructive firepower. This will DEFINATELY include the area where the under ground hangar containing the gun is located, there is virtually no chance of missing the target area cause 40 122m rockets covers a WIDE AREA.

    Once all 40 rockets land at the same time the LTTE will get the message. These 122m rockets will rock the hangar and destroy everything on the surface but won't be able to penetrate the undergound hangar(for that we need bunker busters). But remember that these long range guns are important to the LTTE cause they only have a handful of them.

    Surely after the this massive rocket attack the LTTE will quickly try to pull the gun out of the hangar and withdraw into a safer area. This is the opportune time to quickly send a couple of SLAF jets armed with laser guided cluster bombs to target the withdrawing LTTE artillery gun(now in the open being towed to a safer area). The pilots will drop the laser guided cluster bombs on the gun and destroy it.
    ---------------------------

    What do you guys think of my "1-2 punch" plan to take out the LTTE long range guns?

    ReplyDelete
  103. well im no expert, but that sounds pretty pro. i guess the main point is to get those guns out in the open so they're vulnerable to air strikes.

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  104. Guys,

    With regard to Jammers, our boys do make some of them. We need to improve these devices and make more of them.
    Jammers have to be made cover all RF frequencies, and perhaps can be made to "frequency hop" in cycles.

    The ideal (hypothetical) convoy protection system would include intel, preventive clearance, observation, passive and active protection and mitigation.

    Intell is key if you get that right, it makes the rest a whole lot easier!

    Clearance and Observations will mean routes been closely watched and "cleared" ahead of convoys. This involves a lot of man power and since the routes are so long would be hard to carry out successfully.

    Passive protection would include, RF Jammers, Laser/IR Jammers(if it comes to that), convoy tactics and speed and armored vehicles.
    All vehicles need to have radios to communicate (these radio frequencies can be omitted from the Jammer spectrum, as per required for convoys) Like the Israelis we should make “armored” Trucks/Buses for this use.

    Active protection would likely include patrolling along the routes, and laying ambush to the enemy. Air cover for the convoys: properly low cost UAV and Recon/utility helicopters with Electro optics to patrol engage and transport casualties.

    Mitigation is troop preparedness, Medivac capability, convoy density, and Emergency treatment facilities kept on stand by.
    Just my 2 cents

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  105. Hi all

    I honestly don’t understand what these “ponna” mangala and ranil doing now. Why can’t they give another 2 to 3 years time to MR to do what he is doing at the moment. No doubt the LTTE is suffering now.

    Since the war started in 1 year he gave full support to the forces to clear east. This is a huge achievement guys. 40% of the job done guys … Now or never..

    I know the economy of the country is low and inflation is high and all that … but this for few years .. didn’t we suffer last 25 years because of this baberic terrorist… why cant we wait few more and finish what we started ?????

    Fucking selfish politicians …
    Pls pls pls don’t put our solders morale down.
    I know nothing about the politics .. but I always respect and care about the our brave solders and the people live close to the border villages.

    ReplyDelete
  106. Hasalaka:we is SL have only a few elements in common:They are jealousy,Hatred,trying to cut the other persons throat,being happy that another is suffering.thats why we fail.If one SL fails we ALL fail.

    ReplyDelete
  107. Hasalaka ON TV we hear this wonderful word "Jayawewa""Jayawewa"....Jayawewa.....an infinite amount of times. Why dont each villagetown take it upon themselves to help out the war disabled and those who have suffered under the LTTE-no matter tamil,sinhala,muslim or other minority?

    ReplyDelete
  108. ON TV today you see this f**king brainl*ss don**y speaking about how he is going to propagate mangalas ideas in his villlage.He does not understand that if the UNP were in power by now the LTTE will be slitting his throat in colombo/south-or he will be in hospital as a result of a bomb explosion.He does not understand that he has the freedom to speak freely on the street today because of the security provided by the brave troops who have laid down limb and life for him.This "jayawewa" is not bothered..jayawewa!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  109. All this for a small wage and to curry favour with someone he thinks is an "important" guy.

    ReplyDelete
  110. Remember what Ranil and Mangala are doing shold'nt come as a suprise folks ! Remember 1815 ! English would have never taken Kandy without double crossing Kandyan Chiefs. So that rich wimp Ranil...it's all abt. self interest.Anyhow... do SLAF have recon pod ? Those gun bunkers are not inpenetrable guys, remember the Syrian Guns on Golan Heights ? It's all abt. good intel & smart ops. North FDL ops sure looks like SF & Commando theater not for frontal full court press by Divisions right ?

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  111. didnt isreals successfully use MISSILES on the golan guns finally?.

    ReplyDelete
  112. Thanks nemesis, tropicalStorm.

    Regarding that R&D there is a problem in our contry. We don't give priority, resources to R&D sections in generel since our peolple belive in getting for free (or buying some times) and consuming only. As far as the war is concern the tune is "yudde honda na-pulic, kalakanni yudde-chandrika, shapalath yudde-NGO"etc. So they think we should finish (or stop) the war ASAP and then put that money to get stuff for low prices. How can this kind of people invest in R&D? We don't understand the importence of national security. Even now we think only six years ahead. whether we have a war or not we need to give high place to securuty.

    When prothugese came with atrilary we made it even better very soon. Bcuz before 500 years ago we had the mentaility of "this is our country". But due to 500 yrs foriegn rule, specialy british, we think the gevernment is some big tresure and every one want a big share. Our people don't know how much resource these developed countries alocate for defence and specialy for R&D.

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  113. Apparently tens of thousands marched through Colombo in protest of MR's gov.

    MR is a good prez, sure our inflation is high but our economy is growing fast. Its set to grow by another 7% this year. Our balance of payments has improved that we now have a surplus. Our exports have increased and are set to increase further down the road.

    The large defence spendings did not hamper the growth of the economy as expected. The critics of high defence spending were proved wrong.

    MR is trying to make lanka an export driven economy and I think all Lankans must help him along the way.

    ReplyDelete
  114. (out of topic)

    Ranil and Mangala at least did three good things.
    (1)Now any one should understand how much freedom of expression, human rights, democracy there is in SL. (At least if you see the so called api venuven api drama, MR-prabha cutouts etc.)
    (2)The people have enough money to organise these things means COL is not that big problem for them.
    (3)Any SLFP 'karaya' will be happy to see UNP 'karayas' wearing blue caps and flags.

    BTW, when we are gonna have Mig29s?

    ReplyDelete
  115. ccc

    Not only artillery cannons, the Sinhalese kingdoms also churned out better muskets than the portuguese used.

    We are certainly capable of good R&D. MR has taken certain steps to make this a reality to the best of his ability. Hopefully more will follow. The previous presidents all did not think R&D was that important to this struggle.

    ReplyDelete
  116. However it nearly cost half the country,killed a lot of brave people in the intelligence servies,the army was murdered 5 a day,corruption sky rocketed.Lots of innocent people were made homeless and suffered untold brutality under the unp..what else is there to say except jayawewa!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  117. DefenceNet..(when you have the time)..When the SF is confronted by the LTTE on their routine patrols..is it common practice to pursue and kill them?.too many of these LTTE coolies are getting away...

    ReplyDelete
  118. All,

    I strongly believe that we should get away from party politics when it comes to national security. Both UNP and SLFP should get their act together and formulate a national security policy on how to deal with LTTE as wel as any other potential threat.

    ReplyDelete
  119. Sadly Sam there are too many people living in their own dream world who change their vote for Rs 10/- at election time.They may change their minds when the LTTE child soldiers ram a bazooka up their ars*s and start buchering their children with very sharp long african army knives .At that time they will simply say "jayawewa!!!".If you look defense.lk..you see the sadest story of all.The story told by a senior citizen about how her family was butchered in 1991.So in order to exacerbate her suffering people unknown to her have forcibly build houses on her land.That is the way they are "helping" her!.what did the govt in 1991 do to alleviate her suffering..nothing...Sam you have to be in your 50'-60's to understand what the less fortunate have gone through for over 30 yeras!.I am not discussing politics anymore!.So sorry DefenceNet.

    ReplyDelete
  120. Look guys,
    Sri Lankans are strong enough to defeat LTTE Terrorist at any place.
    Ranil Ponnaya is giving Oxygen to LTTE.
    Hambanthota is great ha bar to us. It should built.
    We should be very strong team and should come to under great roof with President.
    IF YOU LIKE OR NOT HE IS OUR PRESIDENT, There for we should accept his strategy. But minister should act honestly.
    Short cut peas talks are very poor approach from Ranil ponnaya.

    ReplyDelete
  121. Don't give him another chance to help bloodiest LTTE bastards to kill more of our war heroes.

    A man who does not have a family or children should not lead the nation. He doesn't want to keep the country for future generation.

    He does not want to protect country nor interest to do so.



    Example:

    He signed the Agreement to give our lands to terrorists without his own party member's consent.

    It is first time who gives lands to terrorist in the world. He owns a STUPID world record in that sense.



    We must find a good leader for UNP to protect the party and work against ruling party corruptions.



    We want a leader with a backbone.

    We do not want to rule us by a "Ponnaya" or who is begging foreign countries for NOT to help Sri Lanka.

    That is his second world record.



    World Record 1

    Signed an agreement to give our lands to terrorists



    World Record 2

    Begging foreign countries for NOT to help own country



    More records to destroy us can come.... hurry up..........protect mother land!!!

    ReplyDelete
  122. LTTE Gun running in Cambodia,

    In anticipation of a major government offensive both sides do more patrolling and strive to improve their positions which results in more fighting.
    There are several hundred casualties a week, most of them now in the north. The LTTE has been increasing its terror operations in the south. These attacks are directed at the population in general (to demoralize the Sinhalese majority) and the security forces.


    The government has cut off most LTTE weapons and munitions shipments. Most of this was accomplished by getting foreign countries to shut down LTTE arms purchases, and increasingly effective navy patrols (by both Sri Lanka and India). The only country where the LTTE is still able to buy munitions is Cambodia, and the government there is under international pressure to restrain its gunrunners.



    The LTTE has a population of nearly 400,000 Tamils under its control in the north (out of a total Sri Lankan population of 20 million). There are about 3.5 million Tamils on the island. Most are tired of the violence, so the LTTE has to use increasing amounts of force on the Tamil population they are fighting in support of. In the last 24 years, the LTTE rebellion has left over 70,000 dead, and the government is determined to end the fighting in the next year.

    ReplyDelete
  123. http://www.svik.org/PDF/ltteasia.pdf



    Here is an intresting report on LTTE operations in Thailand..
    Site is mainly discusses terrorims related issues involving Norway...


    The site further says, Norwegian SF trained the LTTE sea tigers in Thailand.

    ReplyDelete
  124. Tangara how do you know the govt time scale to end the war.. is it published in any paper?

    ReplyDelete
  125. http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/shrilanka/database/outsidemajorincidents.htm


    Here is another good site...

    ReplyDelete
  126. SriLankan,


    Only I can say is,
    it is going to be bloody...

    ReplyDelete
  127. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,230450,00.html

    ReplyDelete
  128. Thats ok Tangara.so far most of the blood spilt has been that of innocent civilians who cant fight back.Under no circumstance must he following allowed to escape-VP,nadesan,TS,Soosai...etc.If they escape the govt should track them down and eliminate them.These guys must be convinced that holding foreign passports does not entitle you to commit crimes on your home soil.

    ReplyDelete
  129. I hope SLAF uses incendiary bombs freely.I want to feel these guys scream like pigs when their skins burn.

    ReplyDelete
  130. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2117/stories/20040827001505500.htm

    ReplyDelete
  131. Tangara

    Your source for the articles you periodically post here come from:

    www.strategypage.com

    One of the guys(his name is "SYSOP") who runs that website writes the articles(like Cambodia gun running and other articles relating to the Lankan war).

    I occasionally visit that website and I noticed that you sometimes post the same articles from that website regarding the Lankan war over here.

    Its an right-wing(conservative)American website.

    ReplyDelete
  132. Hey guys,

    Can you all use www.tinyurl.com to shorten the URLs you publish?

    Most of the long URLs get truncated in this site.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  133. "Most of the long URLs get truncated in this site."

    Triple click on the link, that'll select it fully. Then right click and copy ore use Ctrl+C

    ReplyDelete
  134. Chemical Weapons....

    This is something we all should be aware and take precautions against.

    http://tinyurl.com/36pr63

    "The only terrorist organization known to have production facilities for toxins / chemicals to make a dirty bomb is the LTTE and they have demonstrated they are willing and able to sell to anyone who has the funds.

    “LTTE was the first terrorist organization that used chemical weapons. LTTE used the chemical against an army camp in Jaffna the winds brought it back to the Tiger camps. The attack was a blunder but this does not seem to have discouraged the LTTE.

    “There has been several news reports about a toxicological laboratory in the Vanni Jungle (the currently dominated northern Sri Lankan area of the LTTE whose leader Prabhakaran is hiding giving directions to political and military operations) whereof the Tamil Tigers is manufacturing their “special weapon”, as described by Anton Balasingham (the deceased theoretician of the Tamil Tigers) earlier, to attack the Sri Lankan government forces located in (the northern-most city) Jaffna.

    “Colonel Karuna (the break-away LTTE military commander) has alleged the LTTE has stockpiles of Chemical weapons and this includes a stockpile of nerve gas similar to the one used by the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein against the Kurdish rebels. “NAT find it likely the LTTE has been able to manufacture and stockpile chemical weapons. It is likely these weapons are more advanced and more deadly than those used in their first chemical attack.

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  135. the question is can they attack the Army with chemical weapons safely and get away with it.this mode of attack seems to agree with the chief of defense satff-rasiah's comments that in order to take jaffna they will suffer 8000 casualties...Lets wait and see...I hope they do..it will give the govt the excuse to launch full scale attacks and forget peace talks...how wonderful!!

    ReplyDelete
  136. i was looking at a picture of an LTTE cadre (a man in his 40's)caught redhanded with a claymore mine.He had such a sheepish grin on this face.He was actually smiling ..he was probably thinking that killing soldiers is some kind of joke.I hope he is enjoying prison life.

    ReplyDelete
  137. Its true, the LTTE attacked our forces once with chemical weapons. What we must do is send 40,000 high quality gas masks to Jaffna. Jaffna must not fall to the LTTE.

    There have also been reports and rumors that certain elements in India(including northern India) that have helped the LTTE during the CFA to develop chemical weapons. These reports are very unsettling.

    We can't take a chance in the next fight for Jaffna. Our government must not be cheap with regard to buying good quality gas masks for our troops.

    Saddam killed over 180,000 kurds through gasing and also killed another 100,000 Iranians during the Iran-Iraq war.

    Killing 40,000 troops in jaffna using chemical weapons is unforgivable.

    ReplyDelete
  138. Yes I remeber that. The attack was on the Kiran army camp. The gas was chlorine.

    The coming days we need to keep talking about these threats. Chemical attacks, biological warfare by the ltte etc. Have we prepared to intercept suicide air attacks? Have we done any training on this. When the terrorists get desparate they will try to go out with a bang.

    Also what are chances of catching that despicable ape piraba now there seems to be a number of air craft available to the terrorists? If things get hot the fat pig (my apologies to pigs) will try to fly out of the country. Have we prepared for chase and hit scenario in such a case. I think we need some kind fighter jets that are capable of air to air combat, be it Mig 29 or otherwise. But it should be only the minimum required number. How did these suckers grow soooooo strong??? We know who the culprits are. Can you believe it. However we are holding strong still.

    Could these be some of the surprises that ThamilChelvam barber is talking about?

    WE NOW NEED TO START TALKING ABOUT DEFENCES FOR CHEMICAL ATTACKS AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE.

    DEFENCENET AND YOUR OTHER FELLOW 4 BLOGGERS! CAN'T YOU PASS WHAT IS BEING DISCUSSED HERE TO NECESSARY PEOPLE SO THAT THEY COULD BE EVALUATED??

    ReplyDelete
  139. Furthermore we need to formulate a number of strategies and contingencies in order to evacuate the soldiers in Yapa Patuna if worst looms.

    ReplyDelete
  140. It is my ignorant opinion that instead of attacking Vanni or Killinocchi the way forward is to capture the costal belts from north down to gokanna harbour.


    Which will include a major battle to capure Mulladuva and from north to north west and toward puttalam.


    And ocuupy these coastal belts and consolidate for some considerable time. This should ensure that the terrorists will be starved for resources.

    Then intelligence should be strengethened no end with eyes and ears everywhere and instigate internal disputes within the terrorist structure and make them implode.


    I don't know whether this is a sound plan Sounds extremely difficult. but what is the outcome of doing something easy?

    ReplyDelete
  141. We have a habit of giving contract to others for doing our stuff. Roads, Bridges to Japaneese, Damns to British, Harbour to China, Airbase to India, Peace to Norway and likewise war to army. We need to get out of this patorn. We really need to involve (not by protesting) in war somehow. As kiri said Defencenet should make some arrangements to discuss these ideas with relevent people. This LTTE's chemical whepon story comes and go time to time. LTTE will use stone age techniques to most modern things as far as they can achieve what they want. We need to prepared for any thing and every thing. The other problem is we forget things in 14 days wheras our enimy is in a continuos process in acheiving thier target.

    ReplyDelete
  142. Defenders are always at disadvantage.

    Without innovation, it is difficult to defend.

    We lost Mullative, Elephant Pass and many camps, because we were traditional defenders.

    We saved Jaffna thanks to Multi-Barrel introduction.

    What is next Sea, Air, and Land?

    If you have really cool ideas, do not post here.. Write to the Defence Secretary himself!

    [no offence intended to this forum]

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  143. Goldeneagle,

    You are probably right.This was being forwarded to me by one of my friends in my email list.But I never found the actual website...Thanks for the info...I think there is wealth of information that most our guys can use ...

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  144. noltte=peace is right. Defenders will always be at a disadvantage.

    What we need to do is improve our maritime reconnaissance VASTLY. We are blessed to be an island. Because controlling the seas is MUCH EASIER(with the right reconnaissance aircraft and ships) than controlling land borders. Just ask any American border guard who works at the America's southern border how hard it is to control a land border and stop mexicans. Just look at the Iran/Iraq border or the Afghan/Pak border. See what I mean?

    If we patrol the seas effectively then we can make smuggling in weapons a nightmare for the LTTE. A weapons starved LTTE will be less willing provoke or confront the SL army head on. LTTE will be less bold and more meek.

    Kiri capturing the coastal belts of Wanni will be tough and high casaulties is a real possibility. But not impossible. Even if we did manage to capture them, the troops stationed in those coastal belts will be constantly harrassed by LTTE artillery and mortar fire. BTW I like the certain names you use to refer to certain areas of Lanka:) You do your historical research don't you? :)

    ccc the reason Lanka depends on other countries to build bridges, roads, damns harbours etc, is because our own infrastructure is weak. The Lankan infrastrucuture is growing more capable by each passing year, but change won't come over night. Give Lanka AT LEAST another 12 years(with the right economic development) to properly strengthen its infrastructure and we will be less dependant on other countries to develop us.

    BTW, I would also stock on rockets for our Multi Barrel Rocket Launhers in Jaffna. 20,000 122mm rockets(cost: $18 million) should be enough of a stock to grill any LTTE advance to Jaffna.

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  145. Kiri,

    I like your name insights.


    GoldenEagle,
    You are far sighted too.. Simple, but great analytics..

    I believe that a Super Dovra is more than $2M.. Any other innovative ways to reduce the number of Super Dovra's we need?

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  146. noltte=peace

    Lanka manufacture there own version of the super dvora. Its called the UFAC III(Lateset version of the Ultra Fast Attack Craft). Its manufactured by Colombo Dockyards and has a top speed of 53 knots which is even faster that the super dvora. I don't really know how much it costs per boat but it is definately cheaper than buying from Israel.

    Just cause its made in Lanka does not mean its inferior to the Israeli version, some people who operate the UFACs have said that some of its systems are even superior to the Israeli versions.

    Even American fighter plane manufacturer Lockheed Martin selected Lankan producted IFS applications to be used in their newest jet the 5th generation F-35 joint strike fighter. In other word the F-35 will be flying Lankan brain power.

    For more info on this go to:

    http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2007/07/01/fin06.asp

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  147. My god i saw the F-35's capabilities, it is simply invincible!

    it has an astronomical cost though, $200 million aircraft :(

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  148. I don't think the F-35 costs $200 million. Its more like $60million per plane.

    I think you are talking about the F-22's pricetag which is closer to $200 million.

    Anyways both aircrafts are way too expensive for poor Lanka.

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  149. They say that the pilots that will one day fly the F-35 in combat are babies or not even born yet.

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  150. "DEFENCENET AND YOUR OTHER FELLOW 4 BLOGGERS! CAN'T YOU PASS WHAT IS BEING DISCUSSED HERE TO NECESSARY PEOPLE SO THAT THEY COULD BE EVALUATED??"

    Unfortunately, we cannot. We do not have that high profile contacts in the MOD. But we do think few ppl from MOD (or MCNS) read this blog because one of our articles appeared on defence.lk some while ago.

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  151. What a historical day it was yesterday.No civilian or army deaths due to the LTTE.A long time ago at the inception of the LTTE(84) you had multiple deaths due to the LTTE and the suffering of their relatives on a daily basis.Sadly some of us can never ever forget.Its ok if your 16 yrs old and born&living abroad but the majority of the population has to go through untold misery just to stay alive while destroying our entire social fabric at the same time.The sadest part..according to a close friend of mine living in london..When some of the Sinhala diasphora go one holiday to SL their main interest is not how to help the suffering poeple but how they can do better than their neighbour.

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  152. Hey everyone I found this worrying Island article today:

    http://www.southasianmedia.net/index_story.cfm?id=410918&category=Frontend&Country=SRI%20LANKA

    The rapid and honest reconstruction of the East is vital to consolidate the victories of the East. The East is critical territory not just because it constitutes the LTTE's 'Eelam' but because of its volatile constitution of the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims! Any Rehabilitation and welfare measures to uplift the territory should be divided equitably and the residents of even one of the ethnic groups must not be allowed to feel discriminated against and more importantly the Sinhalese must not be seen to be given preferential treatment!

    Amid all of this the US wants to set up 'Medical camps' in the East! If the government does allow the US military of all things, considering the prevailing situation in Pakistan and in the Middle East, to enter the East, (no doubt out of concern for the Trincomalee harbour), we would be alienating a third of the population of the region (the Muslims).

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  153. Sri Lankan,

    We want every day a historical day where no deaths occur in Sri Lanka owing to un-natural causes. We can achieve that closer if we somehow eliminate this LTTE mono ethnic Nazi terrorist mania..

    Some food for thought
    http://tinyurl.com/3a5yf4 (Night time is the best to find out enemy in their jungle camps, and who come to attack defence establishments under the cover of dark)
    http://tinyurl.com/3xwaj6

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  154. US medical camps-What a wonderful idea if true.Muslims need to understand that the US forces are doing the recently settled peoples in the east a great favour.If they dont like it i am sure they dont have to attend any of these camps as i am sure they are not compulsory AS THIS IS FOR ALL PEOPLES OF THE EAST AND NOT ONLY THEM.However what they should do is protest the next time they go to Saudi about the inhuman treatment and death of an innocent muslim child not to mention how she is probably being violated in prison.QUESTION:IF THEY FIND THE USTATES SO ABHORRENT WHY ARE THERE SO MANY MUSLIMS LIVING THERE?..SHOULDN'T THEY ALL LEAVE?

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  155. Oshada,

    I do not find US team involvement is worrying to some extent.

    Another agenda behind this move may be to gather intelligence about the East, as part of US global treat minimizing initiative.

    I do not see that would do lot of harm either, as Sri Lankan are not anti-US, and we are at least asking US to help to curb LTTE international fund-raising.

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  156. noltte=peace thanks for your input.capturing the north is going to be pretty difficult simply because it will involve killing a lot of innocent people whose lives have been torn apart for 30 years.I think what the govt is trying to do is to destroy the LTTE from within.AS usual in this case intelligence is the key.

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  157. US involvement is SL is also a very good way to for US personnel to see what the LTTE have done to many innocent people and for them to hear the horror stories even if the LTTE fundraisers in the US are "soft spoken" ubiquitous "accountants".I hope they will bring the horrors of the LTTE terrorist organisaton to the general public in the US.

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  158. noltte, goldeneagle, thanks for your compliments. can't help being a sucker for even a little praise.

    I forgot one. Vavuniya si VewNimaava meaning the end of "Vew" or irrigation tanks. I forget the name of Killinochchi.

    Digressed a little bit, so I hope no one will attach to this and start wandering off..

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  159. Nemesis and David,

    Where are you guys? Forum miss you!

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  160. "even if the LTTE fundraisers in the US are "soft spoken" ubiquitous "accountants"

    more or less how tamils have managed to get their way in every country they've been in. even sri lanka!

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  161. The tamils in katharagama..what a nice and wonderful sight

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  162. Looks like the navy has sunk 2 LTTE boats of the north western coast today. Good news.

    Man am I glad our navy got the 30mm guns for our FACs. It makes a big difference in the battle.

    Oshada

    India won't be pleased with the U.S. coming to Eastern Lanka. The Last thing the Indians want is an American naval base off their southern tip.

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  163. The one blunder we made with regards to the whole capturing of the East to rebuild it, is that we did not trained the additional 25,000 needed infantry at least 6 months before our campaign in the East.

    As you all know our armed forces are set to expand by 50,000 personnel(25,000 for army, 15,000 for navy, 10,000 for AF).

    It takes a lot of time to recruit 25,000 young men AND properly arm and train them mentally and physically.

    We need these new 25,000 infantry men to improve the security and stabilise the East. We need boots on the ground to thwart the oncoming LTTE terror campaign to create havoc in the East. With the LTTE routed from the East, they are mad, and they will carry our an insurgency in the East to destabilize anyway they can so that the rebuilding of the East won't be a success.
    -----------------------

    Why is the LTTE scared of the rebuilding of the East? Well its pretty simple: If the rebuilding of the East is a success then the Tamils in the East who previuosly lived in under LTTE will be able to see the improvements in their lives. This is what VP fears most(more than our military might), he fears that if the Tamil people(the ones under his control) get a chance to experience a better quality of life under the government, then it is only a matter of time before the word will spread to other Tamils who still live in dirt poverty under the LTTE. What will hurt the LTTE more than the loss of territory is the loss of the their standing amoung the Tamils they control. If this happens the LTTE will start to die a slow death.
    ----------------------

    The recruitment process for the 25,000 infantry has just started. The reality is that we need these 25,000 patrolling the East now because the I am sure the oncoming LTTE insurgency won't wait around for those 25,000 young men to be ready to take on their duty. The number of troops we have now in the East is not enough to secure it if a vicious LTTE terror campaign takes place.

    Thats why I say that the 25,000 infantry men should have been recruited at least 6 months ago. Time is a crucial factor here. I hope this lack of foresight won't cost us our plans for the East.

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  164. Here's an interesting development. I am not trying to read too much into it, but the significance is worth noticing.

    A US Marine contingent is shortly expected to set up medical camps in the eastern province areas which came under government control. Here's what's very interesting;

    US forces are always accompanied by 'force protection' which means there will be formidable US military assets which will be committed to guarantee their safety on foreign (SL) soil. This would mean advanced and continuous surveillance and readiness to neutralize any threat towards the US military personnel being committed into this area. Remember this comes in the aftermath of the attack on the western ambassadorial group a few months ago when they visited the east, in which a few incl the US amb were injured.
    Another aspect is the implied diplomatic significance that the US has taken the side of the SL government as the soveriegn in all territories, and no one else. Let's hope this is the beginning of greater military co-operation between the world's number one military and SL.
    Keep an eye on this development, It promises to be more significant than what it seems like right now.
    DefenceNet:
    A suggestion. Have you looked at the other page formats available for your blog, which may allow for greater horizontal word display in each page? Check out the blog format I used on the SLN/SLAF blogs, which you've graciously featured on yours.

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  165. The US is certainly increasing it's presence in Asia, so is India and china. China has a base on an island off Thailand,
    India as you guys may know has set up SIGINT/Maritime Surveillance post in Madagascar, and is trying to do so in Brunei too. High time we got Encrypted communication systems for our use and start a regional SIGINT operation our selves.
    Maritime & regional intelligence is key to route out the LTTE and its logistics ~ procurement network. I think SL has asked for Observer status in the now famed Shanghai Cooperation Organization, these guys do a lot on mutual trade and dialog, But also works hard on counter terrorism and CT intelligence sharing. It would be great if the SL Navy can set up Long range Maritime radar stations in the south & south eastern area. This region has been a blind spot for some time.

    With regard to the LTTE in the East, we REALLY should CLEAR then OUT completely before we go into anything else. About requirement I think more people will like to join the volunteer force than the regular one, and we should have a proper advertising campaign to encourage people to join up and do their bit.

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  166. I have a question.

    Just imagine the army personnel traveling in buses lie down on the bus platform would that decrease the casualty number if a claymore was exploded targeting the bus?

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  167. If the americans are in the east the LTTE are finished.They will never start killing american service personnel in SL.IF they do then the "soft spoken" ubiquitous "accountants" will be fighting a loosing battle saving their "ar*es or their "modesties" in AlcatraZ and guantanemo.Happyly in guantanemo the continuous repetiton of "illeya" wont do.Besides that they will loose the "showing off" power to the less welloff citizens in SL.

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  168. Besides that killing american service personnel may tempt the US govt to increase "real" military aid to SL-worst scenario for the LTTE.

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  169. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  170. Kiri,

    Not necessarily, it depends on the height of the IED/Claymore mine being place, amount of explosives used, and angle of the fragmentation and the speed of the Bus etc.

    Tigers now fix mines elevated, like on tree trunks or even branches, so that the shrapnel “shower” down on the troops and is not stopped by the "armor plates" covering the sides of the vehicle.

    Best option (in term of armoring locally) would be to have 360 degree and under/roof armoring, and place RF jammers on the each buses.
    Basically put all the occupants in an armored “box” like structure or an angled (sloped body/slanting armor: so that it will deflect small arms fire and better reduce penetration ) and the “box” must have bullet resistance glass and small firing ports, plus large armored doors to quickly enter and exit!

    But then if you go to all that trouble, why not just buy the bus/truck chassis and place a purpose designed fully armored "body" on it, like the “Hardened” convoy buses & trucks in Iraq.

    I mean we make Unicorn APC's in SL, so why not make armored convoy buses/Armored transporter like Israel and US does?
    Or make a stretched wide body version of the Unicorn MK 5 with better and higher seating capacity with roof protection and may be add an AC unit and water cooler to keep the boys comfy :)

    But it will sure cost more to make and run. Yet it might keep our lads safe when they travel about.

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  171. I forgot the sacred Hindu festival is today!!.Perfect time to take photos about sinhala brutality and forward to canadian immigration!!

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  172. nemeis,
    Why can't we do as you suggest?

    We have lost close to 80 defence personnel in the recent past and can't
    let this continue.

    What is the use of talking about these issue here if we cannot
    convey these ideas to those who are responsible? May be we should attempt
    to write about these ideas to the president himself periodically and copy to
    the defence secratary as well?

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  173. The complete Barrel assembly and carriage found in Thoppigala..

    http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/images/2007-jun/TopBrass_Visit2.jpg

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  174. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  175. nemesis

    I like your idea of armoured buses or an enlongated unibuffel.

    Frankly after I heard that we lost over 10 soldiers in this recent roadside attack on our bus, I also thought we needed armoured transport to protect our troops from this kind of attack.

    Micro cars of Lanka is already venturing with the Chinese bus manufacturer Dong Long company to build buses locally in Lanka. Maybe our military engineers can approach them to see if there is a possiblity of them helping us design a very simple bus that can carry a decent amount of troops and provide protection to them.

    Adding metal plates to existing buses is a short term solution. In the long term we need a bus specifically designed to be cheap and effective solution to counter road side claymore mine explosions. I do think that if we are ever going to make such a bus that it must have a V-shaped hull and raised quite a bit above the ground. Maybe we can also add some locally produced light weight aluminium spaced armor to the sides of the bus.

    An elongated unibuffel is a good idea but how much people can it carry compared to an armored bus? A normal sized unibuffel can only carry 10 soldiers at a time.

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  176. By the way guys don't you think its interesting that there is no mention about the soosai incident in this weekend's Sunday times? Strange

    I also want to confirm something with David/Navindran is this a Pakistani LMG that the army managed to find in the latest weapons recovery? (The last picture on the page)

    http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=6781

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  177. Dear David-We have not heard from you in a while. I hope you are o.k

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  178. I heard in the mannar bus bomb army did use a jammer but it has not worked. Means either LTTE use UHF rather than VHF or a different frequency. (I really don't know how exactly these work !!!) And also four armoured busses also has gone at the same time. But tigers targeted this only normal bus with knowing about it. Means there is a spy some where there.

    I think we should make it a policy to use armoued buses/vehicles all the time and also keep improving it. But UNTIL THEN CAN WE use bulet proof jackects for the soldiers who travel in unprotected buses? You don't need so many as yuo need it only while they are in the bus. Will this save their lives?

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  179. "By the way guys don't you think its interesting that there is no mention about the soosai incident in this weekend's Sunday times? Strange"

    Hi Oshada, I had posted this question in the wrong thread, but I too was surprised by Athas comment that Soosai had been overheard directing sea tiger operations along the west coast last week and this, so how injured is he?

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  180. "LAKBIMAnEWS understands that there has been a political imperative to liberate the surrounding area of Madhu sanctuary. However, the stiff resistance offered by the LTTE has virtually halted the advance of troops in Madhu.It was while these developments were taking place that the security forces found to their shock that the LTTE has successfully staged a landing in the Peraru jungles.
    LTTE incursion was revealed only after two Commandos who were on a Long Range Reconnaissance Mission in Peraru went missing. Now it is believed the two commandos have walked straight into a guerrilla ambush.
    An estimated hundred guerrillas belonging to the elite Charles Anthony Brigade are reported to have landed in Peraru jungles to facilitate the retreat of Tiger cadres fleeing from Thoppigala.
    The security forces continued to cut off exit routes of the guerrillas, yet, given the terrain and the constraints of man power, it is seemingly an impossible task."

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  181. "An estimated hundred guerrillas belonging to the elite Charles Anthony Brigade are reported to have landed in Peraru jungles to facilitate the retreat of Tiger cadres fleeing from Thoppigala.
    "

    Sometimes I am a little doubtful of Lakabima's reporting, but if this is true it raises a number of quesitons.

    For instance why would you spend 100 of your best troops to try to save a handful of your apparently 'not so good' troops?

    Next up is all the weapon hauls the military is making in the Thoppigala area, unlike Vakari where the tigers destroyed a lot, here we are finding weapons stored well, greesed etc. Which means they ment to come back for them at some point.

    So I would think this 100 Charles Anthony troops, if accurate, may be there for something a lot more than helping the evacuation of Thoppigala tiger troops, what say you guys? Defencenet?

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  182. I think maybe the LTTE use Infrared triggers.

    This already happened in Iraq. Most of the road side bombs, IEDS and EFPs used to be triggered using signals on a frequency. But since the U.S. army started fitting their vehicles with jammers, the insurgents turned to Infrared triggers.

    Jammers are useless against Infrared triggers.

    This is my hunch on the whole situation. What do you guys think?

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  183. "the insurgents turned to Infrared triggers."

    Wouldn't these be very difficult to use in the jungle.shrub terrain of the NE? I can understand in Iraq where there is lots of flat open terrain for line of site, but not so sure how this works in SL?

    Maybe I don't understand how the mechanism works?

    Is it a IR trigger or IR sensor set to go off when something crosses it? I guess more the trigger otherwise the first movement in front of the claymore would have set it off right?

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  184. "http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/fullnews.php?id=6781 "

    Oshada if anything that looks like a German MG3 looking at the shape of the stock and barrel and other features. The MG3 itself is built on the WWII era MG42, but could have come from any number of places as the design is exported to several countries:

    Chile, Dennmark, Italy, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Norway, Austria, Portuguese and Turkey. MG3 clones are built in Yugoslavia and other countries. - Guns.ru

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  185. Kiri and GoldenEagle

    The guys in the forces have much better ideas than I do; I’m pretty sure about that. I’m sure they (those who are interested) have already designed “projects” and put forward their ideas to the relevant top brass.

    The fact is as I mentioned before R&D is not taken seriously in SL. With view to that I must say that MR must be given some credit to injecting some effort to get defense R&D up and going.
    We should also understand that if military hardware was to be made in SL a sizable amount of capital needs to be invested, capital which nobody seems to have in plenty. And the first Prototypes might be a flop (they usual are~ that is science and inventions) but you can learn a good deal out of them and move on to make better types. We should also be mind full of the sad mind set about “Made in Sri Lanka” products amongst our people.
    And if Hardware is made in SL the chances for “people concerned” to drop a “few coins” in to their piggy banks decrease.


    As for what GoldenEagle asked about, Micro Co. is a good bet to start with. But the buses they make are metropolitan buses, thus they have little ground clearance. But these guys (Micro) innovate and improvise a lot (I’m really proud of them).

    I suggest that we stick with the TATA/Leyland 6x6 truck or bus chassis( which we are use to and is cheap with plenty of spares around ) or go for a TATRA type 6x6 or 8x8 truck chassis or may be even a KAMAZ-6560 chassi or a Chinese equal.
    Going for anything other than Indian or Chinese at the moment would make production and operation highly expensive.

    With regard to aluminum armor, yes great if we could make/get it (light weight means less ware and tare on the suspension, engine and gearbox) but it’s cost a ton! An option in my mind would be to have steel armor (spaced & slanting) with composite armor (available even to stop 12.7mm API rounds), I would not comment any further on armor for obvious reasons ;)

    The hard part is to achieve a balance between Ballistic protection, Blast protection and weight and performance. The armor has to be able to stop Bullets, shrapnel and prevent the Blast form an IED/Mine from over pressuring the crew cabin and cause extensive damage to the vehicle structure.
    The design will have to be well planed out and tested.

    With regard to the number of troops per vehicle, I would say no more than 15~20 in each.
    However well protected you don’t want to put all your “eggs” in one basket!

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  186. Jack, DefenceNet,

    Didn't the NAVY use Pakistani or Iranian MG3 some time back? I heard that they are also made in Burma; if so this one might have originated from there.

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  187. Kiri, do you expect soldiers to lie on the floor of the bus for the entire bumpy ride over NE and NC roads?

    Also, while it sounds simple to just bolt armour onto those CTB buses, it isn't. The suspension just can't take the extra weight and neither can the engines.

    Yes, Oshada, that looks like a Heckler&Koch MG3 made under licence by Pakistan. It's based on the WW2 7.92-mm MG34/42, one of the best GPMGs ever made. The MG3 was used by the Bundeswehr until just last year! A number of these were supplied by India to the TNA in 1990 and subsequently captured by the LTTE. It fires the 7.62-mm NATO round, so ammo's easily available. My unit once captured one close to Vasavilan, and I was dying to fire it 'cos I was always such a fan of German WW2 weapons, but sadly the barrel had been badly damaged and we hadn't any replacements.

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  188. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  189. Hey ya David,

    Glad to see you back man, The jerris sure made some great weapons, and still do.

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  190. DEFENCENET, IS THERE ANY TRUTH ABOUT THE CHARLES ANTHONY GROUP LANDING ON PERARU AND THE LOSS OF 2LRS COMMANDOS? IS THERE ANY TRUTH IN THESE CLAIMS?

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  191. DefenceNet:(when you have the time) Any truth about the charles anthony brigade.Have they found the 2 LRRP soldiers who went missing?

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  192. If Charles anthony bridage is true i hope they attack a well defended army camp so that it will give the airforce a bit of bombing practise.

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  193. cannon confirm it is the Charles Anthony brigade or not. but enemy reinforcements seem to have arrived in that area. Previously LTTE were training two different attack formations; one to attack Jaffna and another to attack Trinco. We cannot confirm if this is one of the attack groups or what their objective is.

    This may well be to secure a safe passage to Wanni for the 250-300 LTTE cadres who escaped from Thoppigala. But nothing is confirmed.

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  194. "A number of these were supplied by India to the TNA in 1990 and subsequently captured by the LTTE"

    Hi David, the one in the photo looks to be in very good condition, almost brand new (not a spot of rust on it) so could it be a more recent arrival for the LTTE?

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  195. I don't think this news is correct. We would have heard more about this had it been true.

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  196. Jack, the captiuon says "These items were found buried, having been greased so that they could be used again."

    So it might look nice & shiny because it's been stored well. Also, while it looks pretty much in good condition, you'd not see rust or pitting without closer examination.

    Of course, it's not impossible that this is a recent arrival, but I think the LTTE's more likely to buy Chicom weapons than western.

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