Last week's LTTE attack on Anuradhapura SLAF airbase was a major victory for the tigers. It delivered a severe blow for SLAF's surveillance capabilities and had the Eelam Diaspora jumping up in joy. 1st flying training wing and 11th UAV flight were the squadrons that suffered most. At least 3 UAVs operated by 11th UAV flight were completely destroyed. More than 12 aircraft of the 1st flying training wing including K-8 advanced jet trainers with night flying capability, Cessna 150s and PT6 trainers were destroyed in the attack.
Previously, we reported that two Mi-24 gunships were seriously damaged in the attack. According to latest reports, one of them is damaged beyond repair but the other is repairable.
Destruction of the 3 UAVs delivered a major blow to SLAF's aerial recon capabilities (however the entire UAV fleet was not lost). The loss may not be felt for long as several countries have come forward to aid the SLAF replenish its UAV inventory. Provided that everything goes well, several new UAVs might join the SLAF fleet as early as mid November. We have unconfirmed news that the new UAVs will be more technically advanced than some of those that were destroyed in the attack. Makes and models of the UAVs will not be published here as we do not know when/if that information will be made public.
Another major loss the SLAF suffered in the incident was the destruction of the Beechcraft surveillance aircraft. However the LTTE may not gain a long term benefit; Plans are already underway to repair the other Beechcraft which is currently grounded due to a technical failure.
Meanwhile India has come forward to supply the Sri Lankan armed forces with anti aircraft guns. India previously provided an air defense radar to facilitate early detection of LTTE's low flying Cessna 150 light aircraft. Although the Indian radar at Vavuniya AFB detected the LTTE aircraft, absence of an effective strategy to counter such a detection helped the aircraft to escape unharmed.
Several pro LTTE media featured stories regarding how the LTTE aircraft shot down the SLAF Bell-212. We can confirm that all such stories are false and according to our information Bell-212 was shot down from ground based AA fire directed from Anuradhapura Airbase (high likelihood of a friendly fire incident).
SLAF may recover quickly from these losses with the help promised by foreign counties. However none of these replacements come free of charge. And the lives of SLAF personnel that were lost in the incident can never be replaced. Military Intelligence has already warned that future LTTE targets include the Minneriya AFB (Helicopter gunships are parked here) and Palaly AFB (Major supply hub for Jaffna peninsula). Therefore SLAF must take steps to ensure that effects of future terrorist attacks are minimized.
The jungle routes are the most open for any terrorist to come and attack the SLDF support camps.
ReplyDeleteSLDF should take necessary actions to seal off the jungle routes.
There are some good old days' methods (that I do not want to mention here that were highly effective).
So just to get thing straight, we lost 3 UAVs in the attack. Two were blue horizon UAVs which were loaded to the SLAF for evaluation before deciding whether to buy them. So in essence, we lost just 1 UAV that was in active service. How could this, as most reports have put it, have crippled the 11th squadrons recon abilities?
ReplyDeleteDefencenet,
ReplyDeleteAre we anywhere near to know the outcome of the prelemenary investigation? We were told, the first report will be out in a week.
We must now seriously protect the navy's sea going vessels. The LTTE will no doubt try their best to go after the OPVs that have chased and destroyed so many of their cargo ships.
ReplyDeleteI just hope that the security in the naval bases where these ships are stationed has been beefed up.
Just look at the past trends, the LTTE have always gone after and tried to destroy the military hardware that have hurt them most in battle.
I know this is out of topic, but everyone here MUST READ THIS ARTICLE in rediff. Pay close attention to the comments about the article at the bottom of the page.
ReplyDelete"Colombo port adds to India's China woes"
http://ia.rediff.com/
news/2007/oct/29guest.htm
Illegal.existance,
ReplyDelete"So just to get thing straight, we lost 3 UAVs in the attack. Two were blue horizon UAVs which were loaded to the SLAF for evaluation before deciding whether to buy them. So in essence, we lost just 1 UAV that was in active service. How could this, as most reports have put it, have crippled the 11th squadrons recon abilities?"
You have a point there mate. I was wandering the same. If we have lost only one of our own UAVs and a single Beach craft, how does it cripple most of our air surveillance capabilities?
The beechcraft and the uav that was lost were the backbone of UAV Flight. They were the most used and were more technically advanced than the older models. And we forgot 2 mention that a bell 206 jet ranger was also destroyed.
ReplyDelete"If asked how to cope with a great host of the enemy in orderly array and on the point of marching to the attack, I should say: "Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will."
ReplyDeleteThe Art of War by Sun Tzu
Chapter XI: The Nine Situations
"Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
ReplyDeleteThe Art of War by Sun Tzu
Chapter III: Attack by Stratagem
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteno it can't be, no Kfirs or MIGs were stationed at that base.
ReplyDeleteDear Deefencenet:
ReplyDeleteWhat should we believe?
See the artical below link:
All these make mix feeling......
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2007/October/opinion_October101.xml§ion=opinion&col=
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletelankaputhtra
ReplyDeleteThat is one article written by a journalist accessing the situation in Lanka. There are many articles written by many journalists accessing the situation in Lanka. No two sound completely alike. Don't let one article affect you outlook on the situation.
The northern offensive can't happen now, because it does not make sense in a military sense. We are not a rich country so we must now concentrating on economic strength for a while before planning the next phase of the war which could turn out to be the final chapter in this conflict. "could" being the key word here.
Besides we must strenghten our grip in the east and rebuild it before we move into wanni or we will end up fighting heavy battles in two fronts. As much as our economy has suffered in the past year, the LTTE regions have it much worse, especially with the closing of the A9.
Its kinda like seeing who can hold his breath underwater the longest, and the SLDF is moving to cut off all the oxygen(weapons & supplies) that come to the LTTE from the outside world. Lets see if we can be successful in this endeavour.
It is indeed like a game of chess. We must be patient.
Goldeneagle,
ReplyDeleteYou are spot on...
GE,
ReplyDeleteRight on mark mate,
As u said we must keep our "Blue Water" fleet well guarded.
I also think that Naval Bases like Galle must be beefed up, remember what happed last time in galle. And we must make sweeps for tiger floating/moored sea mines. As a island nation which relies heavily on sea ports we need to develop a strong costal & sea mine counter measure capability.
They only need to hit one commercial vessel(not even sink just damage) and Lloyds will do the rest of the damage to our “Hub” status.
"SLAF may recover quickly from these losses with the help promised by foreign counties. However none of these replacements come free of charge."
ReplyDeleteSpot on DefenceNet... And that is why I have been annoying you guys with the idea of setting up a "Defence Fund"! As we know by now, such a fund (National Defence Fund) already exists and all we need to do is to simply re-activate this...
ga, mathamathica, david blacker, golden eagle & jack point... thanks for showing your enthusiasm about this fund! Yes, I know... the main worry for most of us is whether the money will be misused by our "good-for-nothing" politicians... that is why I suggested that we appoint the commanders of our 3 armed forces as the owners/signatories to this fund!
If we set up this fund now, we will be able to help ease the burden on the defense ministry in trying to purchase stuff lost in the AAFB attack! And also reverse the success the LTTE claims to have made in the attack!
You know guys, it is a shame that we don’t have such fund active right now, because the LTTE certainly collects large sums of money through such funds and the pro LTTE tamil diaspora contributes to it generously...
I'm trying my level best to get this message across to the relevant people but haven't had any success so far... So I beg from you guys, specially DefenceNet, to make this heard!
Btw, if this fund is going to be re-activated, then it should be someone very significant and loved by the public who should make the initial announcement to the public, requesting them to contribute! (hint hint...)
goldeneagale,
ReplyDeletevery interesting points you make. I persoanlly think that the goverment will be forced to go ahead with a northern offensive because of political considerations. I know this will invoke various feelings considering the makeup of the readers of this site but this goverment is only popular in sri lanka (my opnion as popularity can only be judged by an election) because of the war effort. this goverment has badly fucked up the economy. The goverment needs a successfull war campaign for its political well being. successfull battles will make the majority of sri lankans overlook the economic well being of the country.
So i am expecting some sort of northern offensive in the not too distant future
A lot of you may not agree with what i am saying, i will be glad to hear every point of view even if time factor dosent permit me to reply to every one i will be reading all the posts
GE is spot on and i hope the current situation would pan out that way but going by ground realities I feel that Cable's comments are not far off the mark.
ReplyDelete"Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare against possible attacks; numerical strength, from compelling our adversary to make these preparations against us."
ReplyDeleteThe Art of War by Sun Tzu
Chapter VI: Weak Points and Strong
"If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant."
ReplyDeleteThe Art of War by Sun Tzu
Chapter I: Laying Plans
I may be wrong and it might just be a coincidence but it seems that the LTTE is well informed about "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu
defencenet,the only operational UAV we lost,was it the searcher-2 uav?
ReplyDeleteDavid Blacker - completely agree, Israel had intel bases in Europe actually they had tel bases all over the world. Even in parts of South America.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between the Arabs that attacked Israel and the Tamil diaspora that support is that they are openly operating in Europe. In the case of the Arabs, they had the help of Arab states. In most cases they were funded by these Arab states. LTTE operatives aren't funded by a state, they are not intelligence operatives. They are mere 'tax collectors. People that own stores, people that go to work everyday for 5 days a week. All we need to do is open a dialog with interested elements in the intelligence community in those respective countries and then get a few special force guys and train them with faking identities etc. - and whatever intel guys do and then take them out.
Its hard but not impossible. The point is if these people are brave, they would be fighting in Sri Lanka. These are cowards that operate under the protection of Western governments. So by taking out a few of these 'operatives' funding will dry out.
ares,
ReplyDeleteThese is something stood out in you write up, i.e. "Its hard but not impossible." This exactly is the winner's attitude we need in our country. We have enough who knows the possible and finds 100s of ways to not to do it. What we need is to dream the impossible and find ways to make it happen. That is what our navy did this time successfully with those ships deep sea. More power to you.
Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteKeep posting!
San Tzu and Machiavelli are said to be VPs top readings.
rifard,
ReplyDeleteYes it was a Searcher II.
It is indeed a pleasure to see that there are people who actually would donate money for a defense fund.
ReplyDeletePuffy,
send us a mail to defencenetlk@gmail.com with details about the fund you are trying to set up, how to donate, etc and we will publish it in the blog.
Whatever you do, make sure you dont get any politicians involved.
Interesting,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thecolombopost.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=1
cable
ReplyDeleteNo one outside the MOD's upper circle & MR know what step the military will take next. This is what I think. We might invade Wanni or we might not. Every one is guessing at this point.
If this government wants to invade Wanni due to political considerations then it is foolish if you ask me. They will have to face to music when it comes to fixing the economy sooner or later, they can't escape this reality with concentrating on war alone.
The invasion into Wanni will have two parts to it, part one is to conquer Wanni, and part two will be what our post-war plan is for Wanni after it is under our control.
If we don't get part two right, then all the progress made in part one will be vain and the tigers will take advantage of it.
This reminds of the old African saying:
"How do you eat an elephant?....One piece at a time"
Fellas... have ya seen the ltte video on Youtube with BT's training on what looks like a runway or a road ? Can someone clarify the site because, the asphalt looks staight and flat ? In close the "Runway" looks like a road right ?
ReplyDeleteBut, I think we have individuals fishing for info on this site ! So be prudent guys.
Defencenet any truth to claim by Tamilnet that two LRRP boys were killed by LTTE?
ReplyDeleteWonder why they are not playing it up if true, their headline story is about a journalist shot in Colombo.
Thanks.
jack,
ReplyDeleteThe way it is presented, the LRRP story is cooked up. This is the same Tamilnet who produce photos for every bomb SLAF drops and for every incident they report. In this case, there is just nothing to backup their claim, similar to the story of Mig 27 shot down by LTTE automated system. Keep in mind that Tamilnet mostly reports to Tamil Diaspora. After the latest SLAF bombing of a tiger intelligence camp at which 2 civilians got "injured," i.e. they got whacked royally, may be the diaspora is feeling the futility of the sacrifices (shot and killed by SF) made by "21" black tigers. I believe that this story of LRRP is to counter such feelings of diaspora about wasted money and lives by VP.
jack,
ReplyDeleteHowever, the LRRP story can be a true story too, even though my heart says it is not. If that is the case, I hope that these great soldiers will be born again in our homeland in a peaceful time without terrorist. No matter what, the memories of their heroics will always be with us written in golden ink in the history book of Sri Lanka. Until I die, in my own capacity, I will support their loved ones.
"All we need to do is open a dialog with interested elements in the intelligence community in those respective countries and then get a few special force guys and train them with faking identities etc. - and whatever intel guys do and then take them out. "
ReplyDeleteThis will never happen under the current conditions, Ares. Foreign governments and services are generally averse to foreign operatives carrying out military ops in their countries, and they will certainly not allow extra judicial killing of what caan be termed 'civilians' it'll never happen outside of a thriller novel or Hollywood. You can already see the uproar caused by Europeans over their respective secret services helping the Americans to kidnap and transport AQ terror suspects. The reason Israel could do it was because they kept 'Op Gideon' under total Mossad control. Even then, the Mossad/Sayaret Matkal troops had to eventually abandon the mission after limited success for fear of arrest. For a true view of the mission read George Jonas' novel on which the movie 'Munich' was based. It's far more accurate as he was one of the Sayaret Matkal soldiers attached to Mossad for the mission. Eric Bana's character is based on Jonas.
"So by taking out a few of these 'operatives' funding will dry out."
This is also unlikely, as the tax collectors will simply be replaced. The Mossad op was to kill specific individuals who had had a hand in the Munich op.
"may be the diaspora is feeling the futility of the sacrifices (shot and killed by SF) made by "21" black tigers"
Quite the contrary. The diaspora has no doubts about this victory, and if you look at the comments posted after DBS Jeyaraj's account of the attack (there's a link on Kottu), they're clearly hero-worshipping both VP and the BTs.
Guys this is totally out of the topic and my advanced apologies, thought of asking this when the blog traffic had come down...
ReplyDeleteGot some questions on blogger.com
1.Is there a wap enabled page where I can access the blogspot.com? I'm frequently on the move and access the web via mobile. Defencenet I remember u once posted that u add comments via ur mobile
2. How do I find out all the blog post written by one particular person ? Right now I google - but I dont think it gives me all the info - any other way?
Thanks in Advance.
Cheers !
rif,
ReplyDeleteDownload Opera Mini Mobile browser and install it. Then you can view most web pages (even non wap enabled ones) without any issue.
The app uses server side parsing and compression so it will be light on GPRS data usage too.
Link: www.operamini.com (visit from mobile and install)
More Info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera_Mini
Someone inside deactivated electric fence. They also knew precisely where the sound mines were buried. Without inside help this would have been impossible. I ask the question this is not the first but it will happen again in the future unless there is an effective deterrent from accepting bribes to betray the country and fellow soldier. The govt has to set an example by enacting capital punishment. Let these traitors pay the ultimate price facing a firing squad.
ReplyDeleteBell 212 & Air Tiger plane crossed paths
ReplyDeletehttp://lankadissent.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2091&Itemid=1
http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=8617
ReplyDeleteTrue heroes never die....
censorship on war reporting imposed by president
ReplyDeleteCensorship
Isnt history repeating itself?Didnt Ratwatte also do it
So stupid! now we have to resort to pro tiger info from Tamilnet
There is a difference between "sensitive military information" and "general information" about military.
ReplyDeleteLeakage of sensitive military information put the lives of hundreds of thousands of people at risk. Therefore, such information should be protected.
Good thing! But I would expect the government to clearly describe what does fall under this notification and what is exempted.
The censorship is a good thing; the media organizations with vested interests are waiting to go for a kill - a debacle, mishap or mistake - to glorify the terror outfit at the expense of the forces who put their lives at risk for the country; arm-chair pundits like to make a living out of this unplesant exercise. Uncontrolled reporting and the political interpretations do harm the noble cause they fight for.
ReplyDeletedose "sensitive military information" include locations where mines are buried around a military base, where particular buildings(like hangars) are located inside a military base.
ReplyDeleteoh wait! didnt the LTTE already know these my mistake these must be general information
guys,dont believe the utter CRAP this filthy government is dishing out thru its defence.lk website..we might have to turn towards tamilnet or sibernews or pathivu for our news now,i guess..
ReplyDeletecable,i'm with you mate!
ReplyDeleteI don't think defence.lk is any worse than the war reporting of any other country engaged in war; I don't think the US or UK are keen on divulging eagerly the ground information, unless there is something positive to boast about. The tendency is understandable, but not desirable from the curiosity of the audience of course. In short, the reluctance is universal that includes the LTTE - they are not the biggest enthusiasts when it comes to admitting losses!
ReplyDeleteQrious,
ReplyDeletegranted US or UK is a little bit more sophisticated on not giving out information.
But since you brought up US & UK what do you think the situation would be in those contries if censorship was imposed on reporting about military matters in this day and age. ppl would be protesting out in the streets.
Dav, if I may, I never said it was easy. Its not! But it can be done.
ReplyDeleteReplacements - take them out too! Most of these tax collecters are criminals anyways . I remember the LTTE taking out one of Karuna's men in Qatar. Point being LTTE is a Terrorist outfit where as we are a legitimate government. We don't even have to do the killing. We do the investigations. The way I see it foriegn countries aren't cracking down on LTTE because the love us, but because the LTTE has become a pain in their ass too.
If we can invest in man power to do the investigations and then let the local law enforcement take care of the enforceing the law part, then I think we could really hurt them.
Do you think CIA can do what they do in Europe without the help of Eurpean Intellegence? There are always people in any intellegence community that that would bend over for money! They wouldn't do anything that would harm their countries (at least most of them). However, maney can buy them. And its cheaper than most expensive weapons!
Sri Lankan Official Says Media Censorship Plan Withdrawn
ReplyDeleteCOLOMBO (AP)--Sri Lanka has withdrawn a plan to censor news about the government's military campaign against separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, a top official said Wednesday.
Media rights group Free Media Movement said earlier that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the printing of a regulation prohibiting media from reporting planned military operations against the rebels and publishing details of arms purchases.
But Presidential Spokesman Lucien Rajakarunanayake said that the planned gazette has been withdrawn.
"The gazette you heard about is now being withdrawn," Rajakarunanayake said by telephone without elaborating any further.
Wise decision!
ReplyDeleteThat didn't last long now did it?
ReplyDeleteWe live in the information age, its impossible to control information.
Rifard, the only "filthy government" was the one led by that faggot Ranil Wickremasinghe and his cronies. Ranil dick suckers like you will run around waving your arms about like twats, but we all know this government kicked the LTTE out of the east, while that cocksucker Ranil was giving away the east to the LTTE, including Trincomalee.
ReplyDeletePanhinda ,
ReplyDeleteFence deactivated, mine plan sold! What a scar on SLAF. Must be hanged and the families made outcasts.
Traitors and moles must be tracked if it cost even 3Million $ a piece, because it can save 300 Million later.
According to BBC, certain Mr. Morisson, the Anuradhapura MP, is vehemently protesting against appointing of an overall military commander to the district!
Those are these imbeciles who are sleeping with the tigers.
http://maps.google.com/maps/mm?
ReplyDeletef=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttyp
e=&q=Iran&ie=UTF8&t=h&om=1&ll=9.304
591,80.486891&spn=0.00739,0.010042&
z=17
Can anyone comment on this "possible" LTTE runway?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Dav, if I may, I never said it was easy. Its not! But it can be done. "
ReplyDeleteAres, I didn't say it can't be done ever, but it's quite impossible at the moment. We don't have the int and logistics infrastructure needed for such missions. You cannot begin overt ops until you're capable of covert ones, and we don't have that capability yet. We had begun too acquire it in the mid '90s, and it is rumoured that SL int operatives assassinated a Tiger in Paris at that time, though the LTTE claimed it was an internal dispute.
"Replacements - take them out too"
That's not really a value-for-money proposal, Ares. The LTTE will continue to replace the replacements, but SL will be unable to continue killing them indefinitely. As soon as the first killings are done, you'll have the police of that country down on the killers like a ton of bricks. That will force the operatives to either leave the country (wasting all the resources that have been put into training & logistics) or be arrested, leading to embarrassment. It's far more effective to go aafter the bank accounts and other money transfer systems that the LTTE is using.
"We don't even have to do the killing."
Yeah? Who will, then? D'you think foreign int services will undertake extra-judicial killings on our behalf? You're dreaming, machang. The other alternative is to use gangland contracts, but that's too unreliable, and will eventually lead back to the GoSL.
I repeat, countries that have successfully carried out foreign military mission have taaken decades to build up an ops base in the target country. We have to do that first. I know it sounds boring, and it's much more dramatic to go in like James Bond, but it's not gonna happen.
"If we can invest in man power to do the investigations and then let the local law enforcement take care of the enforceing the law part, then I think we could really hurt them. "
Lol. How are you gonna carry out investigations in a foreign country when we are unable to carry out competent anti-terror investigations (or even straightforward criminal invastigations) in SL itself? Our Foreign Ministry cannot even get a SL minister an interview with a Saudi dignitary to save an SL citizen from execution. D'you think they aare capable of providing the logistics & admin support int & military operatives would need? We need to learn to walk before we can run.
"Do you think CIA can do what they do in Europe without the help of Eurpean Intellegence? There are always people in any intellegence community that that would bend over for money!"
Of course the CIA has help, but they don't get that help by walking in and waving fistfuls of money (whic the GoSL doesn't have anyway); they got it by decades of allied ops alongside NATO foreign & domestic int services during the Cold War. I repeat, we don't have that base of contaacts & experience, and if we want that capability in maybe 10 years or so, we need to start now. Then MAYBE we could do it in 10-15 years. We haven't even started now.
But Ares, since you like this shit, get your hands on this (scroll down to number six on the list):
http://www.ph-books.com/books.asp#
You'll love it!
WOW! awesome!looks like MR has finally come to his senses..good call on that one,MR..maybe i might have misjudged you on the censorship issue-however,journalists still get beaten up & harassed constantly.i guess that's all part of your chintanaya or chinthy?he.he.
ReplyDeletelakgardian,
ReplyDeletethat is the iranamadu airstrip that you see in the map. next to tit is the iranamadu resevoir.