Thursday, November 15, 2007

LRRP strike kills LTTE heavy weapons expert

After a long silence, the army's Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) showed signs of activity when they ambushed and killed a heavy weapons expert of the LTTE yesterday. Pullawar Annan (also known as Thuiyawan Master and Seelan) and four others were killed in the attack when their convoy was attacked by LRRP units north of Palampiddi.

According to Military Intelligence, Pullawar Annan was the best and most experienced heavy weapons expert the LTTE had. His areas of expertise included artillery guns, heavy mortars, IED explosives and Multiple rocket launchers.

For the past few weeks LRRP missions had been suspended due to the volatile nature of the Wanni front. Forward defense lines were largely active and this made any infiltrations into Wanni almost impossible. Even amidst the intense fighting that raged on for the last two days, the Deep Penetration Unit had managed to infiltrate into LTTE controlled territory avoiding detection.

The LRRP team that took part in this operation was not part of the 3rd Special Forces regiment (3SF) nor was it a standard LRS team. What carried out this attack was the elite LRRP unit that is deployed only to hunt down high profile LTTE targets. Its roots run back to the assassination of Shankar in 2001.

219 comments:

  1. Guys, a little off topic.

    The government might not win the budget. Wijedasa Rajapkse ready crossed over and Arjuna 'ayya' says that sports hasn't been allocated enough money and that he is against the budget.

    Btw some has to tell him that it Ranil comes to power and then we go back to pre-2005 Nov. we might not have a country to represent.

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  2. I think Wijedasa Rajapkse is a descent guy. He is actually one if the honest politicians that we have. But now is not the to cripple the government. I not a fan of this government, I think the government has committed huge blunders. Specially when taking in UNP politicians. If the government lost the majority then and went for a snap election, they would have been able to secure a better majority. The JVP and JHU wouldn't have won that seats they won last time around.

    Mahinda had a chance to really drive down the UNP but he instead opted to 'strengthen' the government. This was a very short sighted political move. And the government will pay for that.

    My only concern is Ranil. The slut undermine the forces and sign another 'peace' agreement, probably give back the East – that might not happen due to pressure from the forces. But even otherwise give the LTTE a free hand to wage another war that will destroy the country.

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  3. Another blood thirsty thug dead. LRRP is back in style.

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  4. Defencenet

    Why won't the airforce just fit their Kfirs with a newer engine that does not take 20 min to warm up?

    It would save us a lot af money than buying new jets that can get airborne faster.

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  6. Dear Defencenet
    You are giving too much info about DPU (I guess)...
    We must protect these brave lion hearts...
    This is only my view...

    also see this artical by Raman
    http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2007/11/sri-lankan-tamil-cause-uncertain-future.html

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  8. I just read the Raman article.

    Guys his email address is "B. Raman" -itschen36@gmail.com- I wrote to him once before. I was going to write to him again but I think I can find something better to do.

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  9. News like this is just great. Every one wants top LTTE leaders like Prabhakaran to be taken out, but that won't be an easy task. The next best thing is to wipe out people like this, and weaken their actual fighting capabilities.

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  10. tigers hunt alone. but lions hunt in packs.

    we always get our man :)

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  11. Congratulations for the great lions!Keep it up. This is the way the maggots should be wiped out. I doubt whether the big pig will come to a peace deal with the support of NGOs again. As it is this dreded LRRP that ultimately forced these maggots to come to Ranil's peace. Even a clause had been added to the so called MOU preventing LRRP opreations as the big pig feared for his life.

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  13. Guys,

    I have a big doubt about this latter.

    http://www.nationalsecurity.lk/
    fullnews.php?id=8533

    Why are they telling to move away 5km from camps? Is this a warning of a chemical attack?

    .

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  14. ares, Your comment re. Wijedasa MIGHT be right. I used to know him, (distantly) sometime back and thought he is a down to earth man. But power can do a lot of damage and one can never say with the Sri Lankan politics and the trend!!!

    Re. Mahinda, I am deeply disappointed. I didn't think he will be this greedy and arbitrary. But however, I do value this government's efforts towards the ethnic conflict. Considering that Ranil does not even understand what Sri lanka and being a lankan is all about, I guess Mahinda might be the lessor devil.

    My heart bleeds when I think of why we cant change our trend in politics and politicians. ALL THESE problems due to the likes of Jayawardena, Bandaranayake and everybody who followed up. However, most of us, still cling on to our colours. It is very sad and pathetic!

    We need to change the way we think politically!! At least the younger generation..... Let's try.....

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  15. IllegalE-
    Fully agree with you mate.

    Aha, so we see the "mahason brigade" is back in action! Bravo SLA SF/LRRP brothers, go get ‘em Fat, Black, Ugly Pigs! LMSSAO! For sure, we can expect some more "juicy pickings" soon!

    On another note, did you guys see this:

    http://srilankantube.com/item/RL2RL4K992R59YY0

    As you see, this makes you wonder why the fuck do we allow these white bastards and bitches into conflict areas - under SLDF escort at that! - so that they can go back to the west and cut our brave-hearts to pieces!!! I thought SLDF had learned enough lessons about the duplicity of these white bastards/bitches (i.e. just out for sensationalized journalism to advance their sagging or mediocre careers!) and SLDF had ceased taking them into the conflict zones! Evidently, not!

    In the same footage, you can see the LTTE's guardian in Wanni, Bishop Rayappu of Mannar, going all out to discredit the SLDF brave-hearts! Well, this is nothing new, but what bugs my ass is why in the fucking hell did HE Mahinda Rajapakse entertain this hypocritical, man-of-devil, filthy terra-supporting leper recently in his office (with hand-shakes, smiles, cookies, tea, etc.)???

    Anyway, I am going to send this to the attention of MOD as I am sure MOD is not aware of this report.

    OaO Asithri

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  16. It could be all over mates.
    According to some reliable reports few JHU monks will sit on the opposition side (probably) today,may be with few others like Arjuna Ranathunga.

    The goverments fate lies in the hand of JVP(again) so does the war against LTTE barbarians.
    However I believe the vast majority of Sri Lankans support MR and his government who most clearly appeared to be the best bet to erradicate terrorism from this country.

    So it will be another lost opportunity...
    And I am sure this is not the first opportunity that we have lost.However I am not sure whether we will get another one.

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  17. Guys,
    Have you concentrate on Sammy's post which posted on previous post??

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  18. Goldeneagle,

    You cant just just fit a new type of engine on a Kfir or any fighter aircraft. You would have to re-engineer and redesign the entire airframe. The Kfir itself is a redesigned Mirage airframe designed to fit the J79 engines as opposed to the Atar engines on the Mirage III/5.

    It would be much cheaper and easier to buy a new type of fighter aircraft.

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  19. Sammy's post on the last thread is very worrying and further proof that we don't have anything capable of shooting down any type of aircraft (unless it just happens to come and loiter around within range and in sight of a MANPAD/AA gun...very unlikely).

    Incidentally, there was a power cut around 7.20pm (the time mentioned by Sammy) in my area (near the parliament). So it could be very true.

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  20. n300:

    Cool it mate...no, the GOSL will not fall on this budget - I PROMISE YOU.

    JVP has agreed to support the MR GOSL as JVP knows well what is in store if RW=LTTE mf pansy comes to power.

    RW=LTTE mf pansy has said that he will pull back to pre-MavilAru positions (as demanded by LTTE) to commence on yet another round of "peace talks"!!!

    A single SLFP MP and the washed out freaking show-off, Ranatunga, is not going to make a difference at the end of the day. Even the defector Rajapakse has said he will vote in favor of the budget.

    No, the king-maker here is the JVP and the JVP patriots will not let MotherLanka die an untimely death by letting RW=LTTE pansy take the reins - I GUARANTEE! It was the JVP that saved MotherLanka from LTTE’s ISGA and it was the JVP that saved MotherLanka from CBK the Cow’s P-TOMS…and JVP will save MotherLanka again!

    OaO Asithri

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  21. Sammy and R#1

    Even I saw that aircraft flying without any lights as I too live close to the air port in Rathmalana. According to the information I have it was on a test mission basically to identify/spot the air crafts flying without lights from ground base. That why the flash lights were always directed to the air craft through out.

    Let's not talk on that too much.

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  22. Yesterday night (14th), around 7:20pm, a mysterious aircraft, without any lights, started circling Ratmalana airbase. The plane flew right over my house at Gamunu Mawatha, Attidiya. Which is about 300m from the Ratmalana airbase.

    The airbase sounded it's alarms and directed searchlights on this aircraft but did not open fire. Possibly because it was flying just outside the range of our AA guns, and maybe because it was flying over a residential area. The aircraft kept circling the base for some 30-40min. I did in fact see the aircraft with my own eyes, however it was too dark for me to ID the aircraft type. After the aircraft flew away, Air Force ground troops conducted a house to house search of our neighborhood.

    I spoke with a couple of the soldiers I know this morning and they said it was definitely not a SLAF aircraft and that is wasn’t a training exercise. I spoke to one of my pilot friends at Katunayaka airbase and they also confirmed that this aircraft was not one of ours and that they didn’t have any idea as to the identity of this mysterious plane.

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  23. Shay, Sammy's post will be worrying if true, but you've got to question it's accuracy. For one, if a civilian on the ground saw the air craft for 40 mins, troops will have opened fire on it with their personal firearms if they had to.

    Also if both defencenet and defensewire are true, the LTTE aircraft that approached Anuradhapura were followed by Air Force aircraft. IF something unknown is circling around Ratmalana for 40 mins, there's no question the Air Force will have sent something after it.

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  24. There you are, thanks for the info Hiru.

    Honestly, Sammy people like you who try to scare the general population should be shot.

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  26. Asithri:

    I also believe the same,However in a way I feel it is good if MR dissove the government and get a better parliament stregth on his own.
    Now he has to rely on all sorts of jokers who really command no real power(on the ground)
    However to do that also he should win the budget first(then he won't lose the momentum).Otherwise wrong signals will go to the voters.You know Sri Lankan voters are notoriously short sighted when it comes to voting.

    The best thing that MR can do is letting ponsy RW+Mangala and the rest of their homosexuals rule the country with TNA for one or two years and going for an election therafter.
    But the problem is he(MR) will have a much smaller contry to rule by then.

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  27. I don't know if Sammy's story is true or not, but there definitely was a house-to-house search in the area around RAFB the next morning. My parents' house was searched so I can confirm it.

    Also, on Monday morning at about 5am the power in Colombo was cut at the time the LTTE aircraft were spotted over Apura. I woke up and could hear a small single engine aircraft circling over Colombo (for about 10 mins). Went out on the balcony but couldn't see any lights.

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  28. Asithri..I hope this women did not take photos of various defense establishments as well to be handed over to the LTTE at a later date for a fee of course...AS for father rayappu joseph..are we sure we can believe her account of his comments..I am sure she asked him a lot of questions and then printed what she wanted.
    In the previous post did you read sammy's comments..what the hell is going on?

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  29. So what did we do..a house to house search is good.. i assume done by the army..Was the airforce waiting till it dropped a few bombs on houses or bombed the air field for them to do anything...Or did they tell the tigers to wait for 25 mins till their engines heated up for them to be airbourne?.If this was a civilian aircraft????..why is it given permission to fly over airbase without the airbase being notified beforehand?.

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  30. If a plane is on a bombing mission..does the target need to be litup for it to locate it..or do they use..longitude/lattitude bearings?

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  31. "If a plane is on a bombing mission..does the target need to be litup for it to locate it"

    Doesn't necessarily need to be lit up although that would make it easier. They would defintely be using pilot night vision goggles, so large targets like airbases, power plants etc. should be visible to them.

    "..or do they use..longitude/lattitude bearings?"

    They probably have a GPS navigation unit.

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  32. Thanks shay..I wonder what would have happened if the ABase was not notified about the aircraft last night.It appears that the airbase was.

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  33. This is getting ridiculous, how long will we continue to watch the LTTE tin cans perform circus tricks in our skies?

    I doubt our air defence system is fully installed yet. The government will continue to say that 95% of the air defence system is installed to calm the public. What else is new?

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  34. DefenceNet,

    In the event of the Army smashing the first and second bunker lines at Muhamalai and NagaraKovil, what is the next hypothetical scenario, as far as the Army is concerned?

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  35. I think the terrorists will do their best to destroy as much of our air assests as soon as possible. They might go even far as suicide sorties.

    This will provide them with the following.

    1. Reduced or stopped bombing of assests and personnel.
    2. Breathing space and time to rejuvenate and regroup.

    I think these attacks are imminent.

    I think we need step up our attacks a click or two.

    As they say attack is the best defence.

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  36. I dont think the budget will fail either..I think the general population..have begun to realise that the LTTE is not invincible..after a very long time....I think the Hon Prez has their support...I think most if not all parlimentarians realise the full impact of a failed govt..

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  37. According to some reliable reports few JHU monks will sit on the opposition side (probably) today,


    From what I hear that is a lie spread by UNP.

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  38. I don't have the link..If you guys missed this...

    LTTE finally reveals crew of arms ship sunk by Navy months ago
    Unable to conceal its ignominious losses at high seas any longer, LTTE finally released the names of the crew of an arms carrying ship destroyed by Sri Lanka Navy eight months ago.

    A radio station operated by LTTE last week announced 13 names of the crew of the vessel 'Kiyoyi' that had been sunk by SL Navy in February this year. A senior defence official told defence.lk that the radio station IBC had announced the crew list comprising eight very senior level LTTE leaders on the 10th and 12th November 2007.

    'However, the station gave out the full list in two parts, at to two separate news telecasts', he said.

    When inquired of the reason for LTTE to declare the names after eight months from the attack, he said LTTE top brass has been under severe criticism for holding back information of the fate of the lower ranks from their family members.

    'LTTE has been trying hard to save face from its Diaspora sympathisers by concealing its losses as much as possible. Yet, this practice has been considered as treacherous by LTTE junior ranks and their relatives', he said.

    The crew list included five self styled 'Lieutenant Colonels', three 'Majors' and five 'Captains' as shown below:

    Lt Col Ilamurugan (The captain of the ship)

    Lt Col Kokulan

    Lt Col Thennawan

    Lt Col Kumanan

    Lt Col Anguvendan

    Major Sudarmani

    Major Chelvam

    Major Paralawan

    Captain Vetrithambi

    Captain Vidiwilly

    Captain Kurumaran

    Captain Shankar

    Captain Thamilaranjan

    The vessel Kiyoyi was sunk by the Navy on 28th February 2007 at a location 185 Nautical Miles South of Dondra head. LTTE had so far maintained silence over the losing of its floating armouries at sea while some politicians in the south and their media allies expressed cynicism over the navy's achievement in this regard.

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  39. Good one,LRRP..WAY TO GO!! eliminate more of those 'top rungers', & the tiger ladder is gonna fall down..

    Interesting comments in the previous thread of buying new weaponry..but don't you guys think we already have sufficient radar systems,for instance..i mean,the chinese JY-2 3D radars..are these even operational?..plus india is gonna gift us 'summa' a few Bofors L-70 AAA..(hope they are in working condition).LOL..defnet/guys could you confirm how many we already have & how many we are gonna receive?..

    I feel that the turbojet engines used by Kfirs/Mig-27/F-7 are extremely fuel-inefficient when compared to a turbofan engine,as used in,say the Mig-29..howevever,if we do decide to buy the Mig-29,then we will have to phase out Kfirs & F-7's,which are pretty antiquated aircraft,in my opinion..(except,maybe for the Kfir C-7/C-10)versions..If we could go for a few SU-25 "frogfoots",i'm sure these will be quite useful..they are slightly slower than Mig-27's,but are more manoevrable,& their radar/sensors are much improved as well.moreover,they carry a heavier weapon-load,greater range & fuel-economy,& the pilot sits in an armored 'bathtub',for protection against enemy AAA..

    There was some talk about AAA/SAM systems,as well..going for an ZSU-23-4 'Shilka'(upgraded version),which is a mobile AAA unit,should be ideal,especially for an island nation like ours,since we cannot be maintaining fixed AAA/SAM systems around the island,which could turn out to be more expensive & 'risky',as well..For a SAM system.i feel that china/iran & south-africa build highly capable SAM systems,at a reasonable cost..

    However,even if we do have these systems,one thing cannot be easily done & takes time-namely training of AAA/SAM operators on operating the systems,and most importantly being on a state of high ALERT,not after an attack,or beore but at all times..

    Hypothetical scenario-with 'big brother' india trying to flex its muscles & exert influence,we gotta keep a check on Indian expansionist ambitions..remember the in(famous) 'parippu drop,in the late 80's?-an AN-26 cargo aircraft openly vilotaing our airspace,with 3 Mirage2000's for cover,against a SLAF force of F-7's!!

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  40. Airforce's main objective should be to protect the remaining air-assets, mainly what are in Katunayake and Hingurakgoda.

    Attack to Katunayake can not be ruled out at all.

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  41. noltte=peace...how can these air assets be protected..We know that AABase attack happened because of a traitor..He destroyed a lot of lives and property and put people through untold suffering because he prefered Rs 1Million..for this one mil the gov thas to spend billions.. what do u think we should do with him?

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  42. "We know that AABase attack happened because of a traitor"

    Not only because of a traitor. Base defenses were not adequate. Investigations have revealed that only 5 SLAF personnel were guarding the aircraft on runway and hangars. One wasnt guarded at all. There was no secondary line of defence other than the wire fence and sentry posts.

    SLAf should learn a lesson from the army. When a piece of artillery or a MBRL launcher in stationed inside a camp, several soldiers from the artillery regiment always guard it additionally to standard base defences. If its an MBRL most of the time a separate wire fence is used to guard the MBRL alone.

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  43. WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions against a Sri Lankan charitable organization it accused of raising funds for the Tamil Tiger rebel group battling the Sri Lankan government.

    The Treasury said it designated the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation as a terrorist support group under an executive order that bans Americans from transactions with it and freezes any assets it may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

    It said the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation has raised funds in the United States for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) through a network of individual representatives.

    Citing sources within the organization, the Treasury said the charity group is the "preferred conduit of funds from the United States to the LTTE in Sri Lanka."

    The Tamil Tigers have waged a nearly 25-year civil war against the Sri Lankan government that has killed some 70,000 people, including about 5,000 in the two years since a peace process collapsed.

    The Tigers say they are fighting for an independent state for minority ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east but the United States designated the group as a terrorist organization as early as 1997.

    The government in September began a new offensive to drive the rebels from a northwestern district and earlier this month, army jets bombed rebel training camps.

    "TRO passed off its operations as charitable, when in fact it was raising money for a designated terrorist group responsible for heinous acts of terrorism," said Adam Szubin, who heads the Treasury's sanctions arm, the Office of Foreign Assets control.

    The Tamils Rehabilitation Organization also has facilitated Tamil Tiger procurement efforts in the United States, including purchases of munitions, equipment, communication devices and other technologies, the Treasury said. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Bill Trott)

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  44. Guys,

    The Tamilnet says a helicopter has been grounded in Mannar due to a technical failure and some army and air force units have rushed to protect it from the enemy.

    There is some encouraging news from the shores of Atalntic Pool:TRO funds have been frozen.

    Omens are not good for the outfit.

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  45. This cross over drama is so funny. Only problem many people think we need to keep this gov. to hit tigers and don't like a fell down. If we are not having this war we can really enjoy our representatives olympic jumps.

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  46. Off Topic!!!

    http://lankadissent.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2203&Itemid=97

    Interesting!!!

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  47. DefenceNet, if the situation at AAB is as described by you, shouldn't the base commander be held responsible for this ?

    Btw, any progress and updates from the investigations at AAB and the shooting down of the Bell 212?

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  48. Many thanks for your comments DefenceNet.. What a tragedy when you think of the families who lost loved ones and this money the govt could have used to lower the COLiving...somewhat.

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  49. The govt should definitely publish their findings on the AABase attack..

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  50. Oh illegal.. dont shoot sammy mate ! I shall forgive him this time... but,dont repeat it ok son !Hey, David why dont we conduct hit 'n run raids on tiger bases along the coast ? We seems to always wait them first ? Hmmmm, this whack ...nice job SLA !

    Fellas, since now after many moons tigers have confirmed the loss of the Ship and the sea tigers! Looks like thy have many chiefs & not enough Indians !
    So shall we give ourselves some titles fellas ! Comeon guys...It's November!

    Nice job! Hunt them boys hunt them ! We will get your fat ass VP !

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  51. "the Island" editorial.

    From cesspit to cesspit
    (Where is it politicians lie, if not in muck?)

    The Diyawanna frogs must be wondering how on earth humans can match their jumping skills and imitate their croaking. The past few days have seen several frog-like jumps in politics. The best ones were in the not-so-august assembly.

    COPE Chairman Wijedasa Rajapakshe pole-vaulted to the Opposition on Wednesday and yesterday UNP MP Mahinda Ratnathilake did likewise in the opposite direction. Several more jumps are expected during the weekend.

    Rajapkashe has thrown the COPE report at the government and asked President Mahinda Rajapaksa to remove those named therein from his Cabinet and sack some mandarins the COPE has named and shamed. He also wants the Cabinet to be reduced to 30 ministers with an equal number of deputies besides the publication of a detailed account of expenditure incurred by the Department of National Budget.

    The reaction of the government has been to throw a bucketful of mud at him alleging that he has evaded income tax. A red faced Minister Susil Premjayantha, hauling Rajapakshe over the coals immediately after the latter’s crossover, wanted to know why he had not presented his demands at the government group meeting. He said Rajapakshe’s demands were mere hogwash and his jump was part of a well planned conspiracy. Similarly, the government needs to be asked why it had waited till Rajapakshe’s crossover to level that allegation against him. It should have told the public about the alleged tax evasion while he was within the government ranks.

    We have backed the COPE chairman editorially to the hilt over his report. But, the fact remains that no hangings are possible on the basis of a parliamentary report. The law requires much more. The government erred badly by resorting to dilatory tactics without referring the report to the Bribery Commission immediately. At long last that was done but the government had had egg on its face by that time. (Certain international human rights groups, too, made the mistake of launching a vilification campaign against former President Chandrika Kumaratunga—Rajapakshe’s political mentor—and ruining her chances of securing a top UN post on the basis of a book critical of her.)

    Rajapakshe deserves praise for his demand that the Cabinet be reduced to 30. The number could still be smaller. A tiny country like this can manage with a Cabinet of just only ten or fifteen ministers. A jumbo Cabinet means more expenditure and corruption besides all other forms of malpractice and malfeasance. But, in making that demand at this juncture, Rajapakshe has given the President, so to speak, a choice between suicide and being murdered. It is like giving a man a sword and asking him at gunpoint to commit harakiri or to be shot dead! What would happen if the President reduced the size of his Cabinet? In trying to gain Rajapakshe’s vote, he would in such an eventuality, lose over sixty or more MPs!

    So long as we get weak governments desperate for mustering numbers and preventing crossovers from their ranks, there will be jumbo Cabinets. For, each and every political nincompoop wants to be a minister. Even if the present government were to be toppled and a UNP government installed, there would have to be a huge Cabinet. Else, the ambitious and the disgruntled in the UNP would pole-vault to the UPFA. The fault, in the final analysis, lies with the Proportional Representation (PR) system, which brings about lame governments of rainbow coalitions. There has been a proposal to replace the PR system with the German model consisting of the characteristics of both the PR and the first-past-the-post systems. That system needs to be adopted with adequate safeguards to ensure that the minority parties won’t be affected.

    Does Wijedasa Rajapakshe think a future UNP government will punish those named the COPE report? If he does, he is sadly mistaken. For, if those charges are proved, then it is not only those who are named who will be in trouble but the UNP leadership as well because those alleged deals couldn’t have been done without the blessings of the top brass of the UNF government. Therefore, the UNP is naturally wary of pressing for action against the renegades, though it is bellowing out some noises in support of the COPE report for the public consumption.

    It is doubtful that the discerning will fall for the reasons Rajapakshe has given for his crossover hook, line and sinker. There is much more to his jump than meets the eye, perhaps his allegiance to his former boss, Chandrika. Or, is it due to a battle between Medamulana and Walasmulla (which is Wijedasa Rajapakshe’s native place)?

    The crossover of Mahinda Ratnathilake has aggravated the government’s trouble. Minister Dilan Perera has resigned from the SLFP Central Committee in protest against the entry of Ratnathilake, who is a suspect in the Nalanda Ellawala murder case. Nalanda was Dilan’s best friend. But, the fact remains that Dilan didn’t protest so vehemently when Susantha Punchinilame joined the government. He, too, is a suspect in that case. Minister Dallas Alahapperuma was also Nalanda’s bosom pal but he has not reacted in that manner. Why? Dilan and Dallas were in the forefront of a campaign to have the Punchinilame-Ratnathilake duo arrested. They also put up a memorial for Nalanda near Parliament. Now, we have Dilan, Dallas, Punchinilame and Ratnathilake in the same government!

    Something similar happened under President Kumaratunga. She joined hands with the JVP, which had brutally killed her husband, Vijaya. She also accused UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe of having blocked the admission of her son Vimukthi to Royal College. But, today she has sided with him. She sacked Ranil’s government in 2004 but today she is all out to help him form a government!

    President Rajapaksa went all out to sabotage a coming together of the SLFP and the JVP in 2004 but in vain, when he was the Opposition Leader. But, later he secured the JVP’s support to become President! The JVP tried its best to prevent Mahinda Rajapaksa from becoming Prime Minister in 2004 but one year later it helped him become President!

    Mangala Samaraweera was UNP’s bête noire when he was a powerful minister. It accused him of masterminding election rigging and violence at the infamous Wayamba election, where some of the UNP’s female activists were stripped naked and paraded along roads. That election came to be dubbed chanda kollaya or ‘the grand vote robbery’. But, today Mangala has become UNP’s hero. Adversity, it is said, makes strange bedfellows!

    The Saffron Brigade entered Parliament claiming to cleanse it. But, the very first day of their entry, they plunged head first into the cesspit where others were wallowing and suffered a split at the Speaker’s election.

    With two more days to go for the Budget vote, we will see several more jumps from cesspit to cesspit splashing grime all over and giving out a gut-wrenching stench. So, folks stay away and hold your noses!

    As for the lame excuses that political frogs are croaking out for their leaps, we say: Lies, damn lies and the reasons given by crossover politicos!

    ReplyDelete
  52. "LTTE finally reveals crew of arms ship sunk by Navy months ago"
    -Should be carefull about SLN vessels

    "LTTE terrorists threaten Civilians to vacate their homes- Mannar"
    - Ready for chemical attacks?


    "Tigers take wings once again, manged to escape"
    -I don't know the truth about Rathmalana incedent. I guess it is possible to use smuggeled one from Colombo rather than flying from wanni to Colombo, targeting KAB or harbour.

    Finally it was the all time tactic of tigers pretending to attack one place and really attacking another place.

    ReplyDelete
  53. We must stop these tin cans now. Not tomorrow, NOW.

    We can't give the LTTE the chance to use these planes as Suicide crafts to kill VIPs.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Golderneagle:

    The Commander of the Air Force said the same thing about air defences. That they are only partially installed... if they were 95% installed and this is the result... even if the rest - additional 5% to make it 100% - is done, the results would probably be no different.

    Now this is not a DEFEATIST ATTITUDE but a realistic assessment.

    The problem lies NOT in the availability of radars, anti aircraft guns or missiles, but on the mind-set of the Air Force and I am not referring to the brave airmen of the SLAF Regiment that put up the fight on the ground – now 're-formed' under the grandiose title of 'Directorate of Ground Operations'... “There are no bad soldiers... only 'bad' offices”' is a military adage which came from Napoleonic times and relevant in these times as well. When the top brass maintains an attitude that everything is tiki-tiki-boo, then one can expect more of the same... more airbases penetrated and more death and destruction.

    Post July 24, 2001, very little was done at Katunayake and in other airbases to deter, deny, delay, detect, a penetration nor to dominate the situation by an effective response. Increase in the number of sentries and deployment of a few cameras and security lights on an adhoc basis in a few bases resulted in the repetition of a successful raid for the LTTE.

    When the first shot was fired and the APC gunner taken out, the APC retreated without blocking the enemy at the end of the runway. This would have bought sufficient time for the response to be more effective and may have halted the enemy at the initial stage of their attack and prevented them getting close to the V-area at Anu. We lost the initiative and the battle then. What happened later was just the icing on the cake for the LTTE.

    That the raids on Katunayake and Anuradhapura were successful is undeniable. In war, unlike in sports, there are no 'draws'. There is no middle ground. Though there are many attempts at proclaiming such a status-quo, of 'tactical withdrawals'/'re-positioning of lines' etc most often caused by ineptitude of leadership rather than anything else. In the battlefield there is victory and defeat.

    Attempts by the SLAF top bras and the MOD – those directly responsible for the mess (leaving aside the political trash that pontificated the “great victory of killing 21 BT's... etc “) - to belittle the LTTE's victory for public consumption or as a means of rallying the men and raising morale of the troops and the country, is questionable. From the past experience, the opposite effect seems to have been made on the troops. Instead of raising their level of situational awareness, alertness and general efficiency of response, such 'pats-on-the-back' for a bloody defeat (i.e. Jayasikuru etc etc and even Katu & Anu) results in a false sense of 'achievement' rather than learning from the mistakes - which has negative outcomes of demoralizing of those who know the ground reality. Soldiers are quick to appreciate reality, specially when one is in harms way facing the music, unlike some top bras at HQ's, far away from the action. Who see's only what they want to see, with their heads high up in the clouds cloistered in their ivory towers. Thus, defeating the very purpose of such attempted 'moral-ups'.

    Post Anuradhapura, I consider such attempts as 'cover-ups' rather than 'moral-ups'. Cover ups for ineptitude – one word that covers all aspects of not appreciating the situation, of not learning and benefiting from past experience history and unpreparedness.

    There has even been some attempt to make out that LTTE was 'lucky'. In my book luck is a point in time in which preparedness meets opportunity. The LTTE were well prepared. They planned well, came well-equipped, the cadres were well trained and motivated and when the opportunity came, arose to the occasion and did a bloody good job of it.

    There are even some 'theories' that the LTTE brought a flag in order to capture the airfield and raise its flag on the tower, in order to give publicity to the fact that they were able to do so. This type of fanciful thinking is what's going to get us back into a similar situation the next time round.
    Unlike EPS or Mulliathivu, when the LTTE overran these camps, where they had a contiguous land area leading to or surrounding the captured location and therefore the positions were more defendable to resist and overcome a counter attack and re-supply and reinforcement of such positions possible, Anuradhapura, like Katunayake was far from their controlled areas and could not have been held for any period of time even had they put up their flag on the Control Tower or anywhere else. They were virtually in control of or dominating the hangar area and had this been their intention could have put up their flag on the hangar or on the water tower.

    Top brass and MOD officials may like to fool themselves in such theorems and wishful thinking. But the reality is something else. They would be well advised to get down from their pedestals, stop saying that "everything is OK", "we are back in business" etc and be realistic in their thinking in the first instance.

    While bloggers, journalists and other such buggers may seem critical specially at times like these... and make all kinds of suggestions what to do and what not to do, well intentional as some of these may be, top bras and the military establishment generally ignore them, laugh it off or gets all worked up and get their nickers in a twist. In some cases where journalist tread where even angels fear to go, the military establishment goes on a witch hunt as to how 'inside information leaked'. Little do they realize that much of what is said is common sense rather than anything else. When one is in a particular situation one does tend to get tunnel vision.

    As for us, some times, blogging is probably the best thing that could have happened in a very regimented life style where comply and complain is the way of life and speaking to journalist is taboo - excepot for some senior officer's who for reasons best known to themselves (or for wine women and song) sell out to journalist who liberaly dispoense such largese.

    So do excuse me for hogging the page for so long. But in the best interest of the country one needs to say it like it is and to let the top brass know that there are 'none so blind as those who refuse to see'.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Janaka De Silva,

    You sounds like Athas' ghost.. same style and same wordings..

    ReplyDelete
  56. Defencenet,

    What's the news on the grounded helicopter in Mannar.

    Hope we could repair it soon and take it back to the base.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Check out who's joined a particualrly distinguished listing on the US Dept of Treasury:

    http://www.treasury.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/actions/20071115.shtml

    ReplyDelete
  58. "shouldn't the base commander be held responsible for this "

    In our opinion he should be. Specially when he was a previous commander of the Kfir fleet at KAB and knew about these threats very well.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Defencenet

    SLAF claims to have destroyed a LTTE boat producing factory around Iranamadu. Any news about this?

    ReplyDelete
  60. Tropicalstorm great link..All dont forget to look at
    http://www.treasury.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/actions-by Tropicalstorm...

    ReplyDelete
  61. I am in complete agreement with DefenceNet here.There is no excuse on this earth...for deploying just 5 men to guard air assets that are worth billions of rupees.Thankfully the newly appointed overall commander for anuradhapura is SF?.I hope he conducts "troop deployment in battle simulations" every half hour.!!..The holiday has just come to an end.Time to move ass!!

    ReplyDelete
  62. Hats off to Janaka De Silva...

    Last couple of days I was crictical of the SLAF blunder in A'pura..

    I think we need to be critical when we need to..

    Otherwise it will repeat again and again..

    It is about time SLAF top brass awake...

    If we don't take all precationary actions, I bet, if LTTE attacks KAB or AAB again the outcome would be no different to that, a month ago.

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

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  64. Janaka De Silva,

    I have a question for you...

    It seems to me that in your comment you confirmed the fact that we all feared that it was a greatest debacle of all time..
    But If I rememeber it correctly in your previous comment about 2 weeks ago, you said that it wasn't that bad as some of the bloggers mentioned in their comments..

    Why you make a u turn on in your latest comments?

    Can you elaborate?

    I believe LTTE will attack our other Air bases until such time we loss all of them...

    AAB is not the last....



    Thanks..

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

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  66. Given the success of the LTTE's last outing in South, they will try simultanious attacks on multiple targets using their commandos.

    Be ready....

    ReplyDelete
  67. http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2007/11/11/sec03.asp-muhamalai battle pics for those interested.
    http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2007/11/11/fea06.asp-SLAK commanders interview

    ReplyDelete
  68. Breaking News : GOSL decides to withdraw from Ceasefire & ban LTTE!!!

    http://www.lankaenews.com/Sinhala/index.php?PHPSESSID=31805de13c4eef9a21507e2224738549

    ReplyDelete
  69. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/071111/Columns/sitreport.html-muhamalai..battle iqbals report..the RPG's are very impressive but does anyone know if the bearers of these weapons are immune to bombs?...I am sure the black tigers have developed the art of diffusing bombs while in the air.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Is it me, or does that first image look a bit photo-shopped?

    ReplyDelete
  71. an article in lankapage(15/11) says that more srilankan soldiers are to be sent home because of "sexual Favours"....? This has all the makings of a soap opera?

    ReplyDelete
  72. BTW guys,

    NASREDDIN, Ahmad I. (a.k.a. NASREDDIN, Ahmed Idris; a.k.a. NASREDDIN, Hadj Ahmed; a.k.a. NASREDDINE, Ahmed Idriss)

    Are the operating names of KP?

    From the US Treasury List of TRO banning..

    ReplyDelete
  73. From AABase attack post:Janaka De silva..many thanks for your comments.I did not think of the loss of pilots which would have been far more costly in the long run.Now i wonder why they didnt just go for the pilots..probably because they were unable to penetrate the airbase fully before the airforce reacted.However the loss of planes is sad since it is now known that only 5 persons were guarding them.I am in agreement with you that this was an act of desperation..definitely...These 40mm cannon shells? you stated are they from the AA guns?.God Bless

    ReplyDelete
  74. LTTE has fitted nearly 50 Fishing Boats with explosives and are ready to launch.

    Perhaps, they are designated to be used for arms smuggling or suicide attacks against other targets.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Rifard! the LTTE fart was exposed, and the guy vanished.

    ReplyDelete
  76. "http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2007/11/11/sec03.asp-muhamalai battle pics for those interested."

    Hi SL,

    reading some excerpts from this article I think the the writers must realy think we are all quite gulible, now they are blaming the civilian deaths in Tissa on cattle theives? (didn't know cattle thieves spoke Tamil in south and interigated people on military movements and info - see Daily mirror articles on the eye witness reports) I guess the same cattle thieves were also responsible for AAB, they just wanted those 12 buffalo they killed right!?

    Also claiming Muhamalai II was something they intended to do this way? They should have more respect for those putting lives on the line and not insult the reader or those who sacrificed their lives.

    And they keep going on about this LTTE photo of barber's daughter. Everyone knows LTTE uses child soldiers, so why use the one photo where it ISN'T the case there are hundreds of real ones to choose from, just makes one look stupid or is insulting to the reader.

    Rambukwella was going on about the same thing at a recent press conference. These guys need to get more media savyy and stop taking everyone to be idiots.

    As the saying goes the first step to a solution is admitting the problem, sadly seems some in the media arms still need to learn this lesson.

    ReplyDelete
  77. I am also not happy seeing the Observer article, blaming deaths to Cattle Thieves.

    These morons again think that the general public are in the same mental level as they are.

    It would have been much better for the government to be upfront and admit what it is as it is and collectively seek solutions.

    Any idiot can understand that 10-12 LTTE men can slip into any territory un-noticed and create havoc. So, be it and for god sake, do not try to cover-up.

    When idiots handle media from the government side, these are the type of articles you can see coming up.

    Whatever done in Muhammalai, it shows that there was no plan in the first-place, and we lost people unnecessarily. What we need is Silawathurai type planning and coordination. Air-support is important. And this Air-support should be innovative -not just dropping two bombs at a time.

    Government should think of not trying to cover-up its lapses. Some people who got set-of horns and suck whatever attitude make people lose trust on the government. At least from now itself the government should decide to avoid this 'cover-up' the loophole mentality.

    Else, do it in its own peril.

    ReplyDelete
  78. Hi Jack :
    Lets assume the worst case scenario that they are LTTE cadres...As for muhamalai..the army seems to be trying to capitalise on the previous attack..which under the circumstances is the right thing to do..It seems that the army has commenced offensive operations on many fronts in the best way possible ..ie:with small groups of soldiers doing the maximum damage possible which is good news.

    ReplyDelete
  79. An interesting thread from Defencewire about the SF operation that killed the artillary man.

    ReplyDelete
  80. What type MANPADs has the military brought to take down the LTTE craft?

    ReplyDelete
  81. Nothing to do with Defence..

    But this is about creating opportunities.

    The biggest cost of a car is assembly (man-power or Robot Power).

    I see daily that Sri Lankan customs arresting people who locally assemble cars.

    Why can not we make this a legal industry with registered businesses who would bring certified parts and locally assemble vehicles for Domestic use?

    This is similar to what Micro-car is doing.

    Car assembling plants can get the orders from the buyers and custom assemble them locally.

    Government can charge a lesser tax than directly importing vehicles to encourage this industry.

    ReplyDelete
  82. NOLTTE=PEACE,

    Sounds a great idea...Believe me, you will be suprised...Send your idea through the following website.

    http://tinyurl.com/3xk7sv

    ReplyDelete
  83. Tangara,

    Please send it to him on my behalf...!

    :-))

    ReplyDelete
  84. .. and deliver some Ginger and Sukiri too if possible.. He would need them to deliver the Budget Speech..

    ReplyDelete
  85. From Athas report...

    In every team, we have exceptions...



    Acts of bravery by some of the airmen during the guerrilla attack on the airbase are now unfolding before the SLAF Court of Inquiry. One of the heroes is an Air Force Corporal who stood near the Control Tower and took a number of hits with his sniper rifle. He is said to have killed at least eight intruding guerrillas. Some of them had detonated their 'suicide belts' and died on the runway.

    ReplyDelete
  86. "Acts of bravery by some of the airmen during the guerrilla attack on the airbase are now unfolding before the SLAF Court of Inquiry. "

    This is what we have to consider before blaming everybody on the site. Despite limited resources, our soldiers are fighting the enemy at their best capacity. Instead of cursing them, we should find ways to help them.

    ReplyDelete
  87. R*fard&C*ble,

    I think SLAF got the wind of your comment and bombed some of the LTTE boat manufacturing factories which are building suicide boats.

    http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20071116_02

    Keep up the good work...

    Following link gives your comment.

    https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=9079007316930841006&postID=5200504930606040692

    And here is the action for that.

    http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20071116_02

    I don't know whether this is a coincidence or not..However I think they can't ignore these blogs anymore..

    ReplyDelete
  88. Noltte,

    I did that exactly...

    Keep up the good work..

    ReplyDelete
  89. http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/11/17/news30.asp

    ReplyDelete
  90. DefNet:

    A blogger asked:
    ["shouldn't the base commander be held responsible for this "

    And you said:
    [In our opinion he should be. Specially when he was a previous commander of the Kfir fleet at KAB and knew about these threats very well.]

    Kudos to you mate. As we say here, you are right on the dime with those statements! Yes, the commander of the AAFB must be held accountable for this grave (stupid) lapse and if found guilty of negligence, he must be punished as per the military laws of our land. The time is long gone when we can afford to have morons in high places, especially in high places that are responsible key tactical/security measures.

    On that topic, I do have a problem with what Janaka De Silva said earlier and that is:

    While I agree with Janaka's views that when we make mistakes, accountability for those mistakes must be clearly and undeniably established (no, not through the media!) and the errant party must be coached or fired as circumstances warrant! However, in his writing, as no-ltte said, he appears to be more politically motivated than actually getting at the cause-effect-solution. For example, he is quite eloquent in his blame for the MOD for the AAFB incident, but does not say, like I said, that the AAFB commander should be held fully responsible for what happened. In my view, not only the AAFB commander, but the Commander of the SLAF, Roshan G, should be held accountable for it. However, when that angle is missing, this is where I get concerned. The honchos at the MOD (like Gota) are there to provide broader direction (and political support) for the execution of this war against the carcass-maggots and it is up to the military brass to execute that approved program with a prudent suite of tactical measures, including security of our prized military assets. If one insists on blaming the MOD lock-stock-&-barrel for this type of tactical failure and not the tacticians, then this is where I get suspicious as then it becomes more of a politically motivated attack than anything else. To me, then it is like saying let's hang the doctor because the pharmacist dispensed the wrong medicine or dosage to the patient and the patient died!

    Since this war began, today we have a team of policy makers/directors in the MOD (called the “Hub”) delivering a strategic program that is showing substantive results on the field, pointing to steady liquidating of the maggots and eradication of LTTE terrorism from our soil and as such, I say let's be fair in not apportioning blame where it is not due.

    PEACE to all patriots…

    OaO Asithri

    ReplyDelete
  91. R*fard&C*ble,

    [Rifard! the LTTE fart was exposed, and the guy vanished.]

    LMSSAO!!!

    Way to go...that LTTE undercover bastard had no valid counter-argument than to always say "fag" to someone who would cut him down to size!

    He was fishing here for info. and I think we "exorcised him out!"

    LMSSAO!!!

    Greets...

    OaO Asithri

    ReplyDelete
  92. Loss of the only beechcraft in operation is the worry...


    Rebel Lines Crumble
    November 16, 2007: Fighting in the north has intensified over the last week, with the LTTE front lines being destroyed in several places (the enemy bunkers were destroyed or captured). LTTE casualties have been heavy, with nearly a hundred dead and several hundred wounded or captured. The LTTE continues trying to infiltrate fighters out of the north, to carry out terror attacks in government territory. The LTTE has also held back their best trained combat troops. The army is encountering poorly trained and led LTTE fighters on the front line.


    The air force bombed a coastal LTTE base and boatyard. The navy continues to control the northern coast, although the loss of their naval reconnaissance aircraft last month makes it easier to determined LTTE smugglers to sneak in.



    November 15, 2007: In the United States, a major LTTE fundraising organization, the TRO, was banned. Many LTTE fundraising operations have been crippled in the past year, reducing cash flow for the hard pressed rebels.



    November 11, 2007: The air force is confident enough about their improved intelligence inside LTTE territory, that they feel they have a shot at killing LTTE commander-in-chief Velupillai Prabhakaran. The improved intel is partly the result of more Tamils in the north willing to inform on the LTTE, partly the increased use of stealthy army commando patrols inside LTTE territory, and more skillful use of air force recon aircraft.

    ReplyDelete
  93. Some interesting notes on US soldiers being seen in Sri Lankan camps, on

    http://lankadissent.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2197&Itemid=69

    ReplyDelete
  94. http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=185243&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56-This is not relevent..but an article about the emergence of justice in doha about a poor SLankan maid who was killed.

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

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  96. http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/11/17/news/11.asp

    Unrelated link...

    I have this feeling, LTTE agents in UK will try their best to kill him, fearing he might in future implicate velu for everything..


    Sri Lankan government should demand the saftety of this man from the British government.

    Failing to do so means, UK is sponsoring LTTE terror in their own territory.

    Lucky he wasn't caught by the Norwegians..

    ReplyDelete
  97. GOD, only 5 people to guard 30 something planes??? Who is the Jack ASS planed base security? Nobody resigned on this incident? Yet? I mean at least suspension? What a country, I can't believe the intelligence of our military ....... no wonder we can't defeat 12000 terrorists with a army of 150000.. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  98. Tangara..i agree with you completely..His only weak link is that his family is also there.So he is pretty vulnerable.if i was him i would have written a book about VP and the complicity of the british govt in supporting one of the most brutal, heinous not to mention murderous terrorist organisations in the world and have it printed to be sold worldwide (especially in afganistan and Iraq where british troops are deployed.He will make a killing..This is all to show the LTTE diasphora(a section of the tamil vote)that they are being fair.Dont for a moment think that being in england makes him any safer than in Norway and one way or other he will be killed in time when people have lost interest in him..The govt does not need to be actively involved..lets hope he gets his citizenship..Simon garder/someone else..probably for LTTE money will have a completely "innocent" article in the paper saying.."MR so and so..living at such and such was once accused by humanrights watch of such and such which the LTTE hitmen will pick up..very easy..NOw if the BRitish govt provides him with some security in jail...then it is different...lets wait and see..

    ReplyDelete
  99. Times eye..Even though the airforce officers fought bravely..they missed the point that the whole idea was to defend the air assets...No disrespect to them intended.

    ReplyDelete
  100. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai7eaDeRlDs

    ReplyDelete
  101. I don't think Rifard is gone, he came back under the handle Renegade!

    ReplyDelete
  102. Tangara

    I think India might buy the MIG-29OVT. But it will still get hammered in a one-on-one dogfight with the Eurofighter, Rafale, F-35 or F-22. Simply because the West still has better electronics and radar.

    ReplyDelete
  103. GE,

    I would count more on the pilots rather than the superior electronics of the west....

    Further I won't underestimate the Russian Mig for a moment..

    It got everything except the Stealth capability...

    Otherwise it will match one to one with most of these US/Western European fighters..

    MIG29 was developed in late 80 where as the F22, JF35, Europfighter 2000 is more recent..

    Russian migs are being equipped with the Israel Avionics for export market..

    That is all I know..

    Russians did this without anyone's help..True they were master spies...

    Why we can't even built a bicycle?
    Education man...As long as we got JVP doing student strikes for all of us, we will not even build a decent bottle opener..
    Ever thought about why the country is going backwards in higher education ...JVP curse man..

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  104. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  105. Russian/Indian joint venture is building the 5 gen joint fighter called
    Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA

    (Famously nick named...RAPTORSKI)

    http://www.strategypage.com/military_photos/2007111122950.aspx

    ReplyDelete
  106. Tangara

    The West produced better pilots throughout the cold war and to this very day. The Russian and Chinese line of thinking was that the aircraft was more valuable than the pilot. The Western line of thinking was that the aircraft was only as good as the pilot flying it.

    The Mig-29OVT is only a pimped out Mig-29. There is more to the Eurofighter and Rafale than meets the eye. Their avionics and electronic warfare are way ahead of Russian ones.

    ReplyDelete
  107. T-50 PAK FA is just a copy of the F-22. The external looks are similar but I doubt what is inside of the two planes are.

    Its more of a match to the F-35 than the imperious F-22. Get my point?

    ReplyDelete
  108. Tangara

    Despite the loony theories and actions of the JVP, we still manage to manufacture cars in Lanka. Not all hope is lost.

    BTW why are you naming yourself after a railway transit system from down under? Just curious.

    ReplyDelete
  109. GEagle can the F-22 operate under say -20 Degrees centigrade?...

    ReplyDelete
  110. Tangara is the Aboroginal word for "TO GO"...Aussies named one of their train systems developed in late ninetees with that word...

    GE,

    If not for the JVP we would have done much better..

    TWO Failed revolutions, and 20000 student deaths alone was enough for us to go back to stone age...And with their world record general strikes we are already hitting the guiness record...No doubt..


    Don't you think so?

    ReplyDelete
  111. Tangara...It sounds great...That is why I used it...And in respect of aboroginal people....


    Sorry bloggers for hogging the blog...

    I will not be able to contribute very often after several weeks time..

    ReplyDelete
  112. Defencenet,
    Sorry for my political views...This is just me...I am not here to do political work...
    If you wish this is inappropriate, please remove the comment.


    My advice to bloggers...

    Don't vote for JVP next time..

    Even If you see my name under JVP candidate lists in a future election, DON'T vote for me..lol..

    That is how I see them...

    JVP set the trend in 1971 for a future uprising of Tamil nationalism...

    I see the JVP as the biggest threat to Sinhalese after LTTE..

    ReplyDelete
  113. F22 Raptor
    http://www.f22fighter.com/Specs.htm

    Sukhoi - T50
    http://warfare.ru/?linkid=2280&catid=255

    Specs...

    ReplyDelete
  114. Srilanka

    Yes, the F-22 can operate under 20 degrees. Damn man, its gets super cold flying at altitude, the higher you fly the colder the outside temp. Every 100m you go up the temp drops by 1 degree centigrade. Thats why its so freaking cold in the mountions.

    Tangara

    Most of the vital info on the F-22 is classified. Its very very hard to fight the F-22 in a one on one dogfight. Thats why the Russians scrambled to make an aircraft as similar to the F-22 as possible. Imitation is the best form of flattery. Normally the Russians take pride in the unique designs on their aircraft and other weapons, but the F-22 is so superior to anything out there(including the F-35) that they had no choice but to copy the F-22 as much as possible.

    Why do you think the F-22 costs $170 million per plane while the F-35 costs $60 million per plane? I mean after all they are both 5th generation fighters right? There is much more to the F-22 than meets the eye.

    Trust me Tangara, the Russian plane make look formidable on paper but against the advanced futuristic stealth and electronics of the F-22 the PAK-FA is nothing but a flying bulls-eye.

    ReplyDelete
  115. This is for those folks who are in Canada,

    http://www.friday.lk/20071116/Current%20Affairs.htm

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  116. On the topic of f-22s. The f-15 is to be succeeded by the f-22. Recently all the US f-15s were grounded after an incident (was an explosion in midair- i think) on november 2nd. I guess they are given clearance to fly now, after the air frame is inspected.

    I was wondering from sl perspective. Since the f-15, is being phased out by the usaf, will we ever get f-15s??? A big IF init? However here are the pros for us.
    - f-15, is a designed for an air to air combat role. Its said to distinguish low flying ac's from other ground targets.
    - f-15 has variants which can play an air to ground bomber role.
    - expertise available from usaf and israeli air force, who are current users of f-15.

    The cons
    - i presume the cost is higher than the mig 29 and mig 27 and other similar aircraft.
    - since this is manufactured in the usa. This wud make us dependent on them for future service and parts. If any future us government imposes an arms embargo, we wud have little option. Just like pakistan has an issue wit f-16s and the US gov.

    Just my two cents on the f-15s for SLAF :)

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  117. rome alpha fox trot

    I doubt the US will sell us their F-15 even 20 years from now. The F-15 is most fromidable aircraft in history of this world. It has never been defeated in combat.

    ReplyDelete
  118. The aircraft experts,

    What are the other non US equivalents to C-130?

    Should be able to fly high altitude, no need to be super sonic, but should be able to carry few tons of cargo or men on war situations.

    Do not recommend Antonovs either.

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  119. noltte=peace

    The only one capable of matching the massive workload performed by the US C-130 is the Russian Ilyushin Il-76.

    Close to 1000(yes you read it right) Ilyushin Il-76 aircrafts have been built, they can carry upto 50 tons of cargo, 5000km range, upto 140 combat ready troops.

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  120. I have flown in one of the IL76s and they are huge and awesome.

    Any thing smaller like size of an Avro?

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  121. Sri Lankan

    Even average civillian aircraft operate at temperatures far below neg.20Cel. A civ jet at 35,000 feet typically encounters temps around negative 75 degrees.

    ReplyDelete
  122. It seems like even among hunter-killers in the army, there's an elite; a veritable "Executive Head-Hunters" unit.

    Perhaps not so amusing to their potential clients..

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  123. http://www.lakbima.lk/Mandakiniya/manda_1.htm

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  124. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  125. noltte=peace

    What do you mean by Avro? Do you mean the CF-105 Arrow? That size?

    ReplyDelete
  126. Patriots,

    I have always given thought to a trend in the escalating number of complaints to the Human Rights officials in GOSL controlled areas by certain “Tamil civilians” who alleged that they have been threatened with death by “unknown persons” (which is another way of saying it is the SL police or the SLA that threatened him).

    This is something that has been happening quite frequently (especially since SLDF captured the East) and it’s something that has been picked up by HR orgs in IC, including the HRW in NY, Amnesty International in the UK, and even many UN HR orgs. These complaints are formally lodged (with all due paperwork completed) and the complainants are tracked regularly and if ever one of them were to be harassed, disappear or meet with death, ouch, GOSL better have answers as that “harassment,” “disappearance” or “killing” will be conveyed to the aforesaid HR orgs in the IC and in no time and GOSL will land itself in the “prisoner’s dock” fouled in IC’s opinion.

    I, for one, always thought that these complaints have much to do with an insidious ploy by the LTTE maggots to advance their military objectives in GOSL controlled areas than any real threat that they received from whoever. I always suspected that these complaints were made by LTTE undercover operatives with the belief that once such a complaint it lodged with the HR officials in Jaffna for example, in essence that “Tamil civilians” has bought an insurance policy – a security guarantee that he/she will be “left alone” by the GOSL’s SLDF. Anyway, this was only a suspicion that I had…UNTIL NOW!

    Here’s the confirmation that it is no longer a suspicion and that my fears were well founded:
    -------------------------------
    NEWS:

    New ruse by Tigers seeking HRC help to escape

    A 37-year-old father of three children who operated in Jaffna area as an LTTE intelligence cadre has reportedly sought assistance of the Jaffna Human Right Commission (HRC) claiming that he was under death threats, but subsequent follow - up of his conduct proved that his house was used as a storage of arms, ammunition, explosives and warlike items for the LTTE.

    The LTTE intelligence cadre, Pedurepulle Jeyamugan alias LTTE's Kaushalyan had 26 explosives filled chargers of 23 kg each, eight suicide jackets, six T-56 ammunition boxes, one T-56 weapon, one GPS (Global Positioning System), five cellular phones with two chargers, two communication sets, one satellite phone, three claymore mines, five remote controller units, four military-type uniforms, thirty-five metres of thread, three battery chargers, one claymore fuse, one charger used for artillery guns, five 40 mm grenade launcher bombs, 24 kg of C 4 explosives in twelve bags, four claymore holders, nineteen fuses, twenty T 56 magazines, 790 rounds of T 85 ammunition, one UPS, four Identity Cards, one driving licence, one pistol silencer, six weapon cleaning rods, high explosive chargers, twenty one boxes of steel bolls, 6 kg of explosives in three boxes, field dressings, wire rolls, detonators, some packets of chlorine powder and one claymore remote control manual concealed inside his house at Thirunaveli on October 17.

    The police assisted by the troops inspected his house, following information that he was engaged in collecting details about the whereabouts of the troops and their movements in the peninsula.
    However, he was arrested, the same day, though his wife and two of his children were spared in view of humanitarian concerns. In his complaint to the HRC, he had claimed that he has been threatened with death. However he declined to identify or reveal the people who were threatening him with death. He contacted the HRC on August 19 to lodge a complaint but was consistently observed by the Army intelligence unit until his house was searched.

    This shows how the LTTE terrorists, citing various reasons, were trying hard to disguise themselves while continuing with their attacks against members of the security forces.
    ------------------------------

    Aha, this is one success story…and the moral of the story is: SLDF, do NOT pay attention to these “human rights” complaints lodged in either the East or the North at the expense of letting go of common sense security precautions as the LTTE maggots are using the “human rights” card to get organized and kill you!

    OaO Asithri

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  127. Tangara:

    [My advice to bloggers... Don't vote for JVP next time.. Even If you see my name under JVP candidate lists in a future election, DON'T vote for me..lol..]


    Dude, I do not agree with you anti-JVP rhetoric and frankly, find it rather short-sighted (to the point of being moronic as you are living in the past) and "very political" at the expense of detriment to our national security.

    Let me start by telling you that I am not a "born JVP stalwart" (no, I come from a clan that was with the "greens" all along - given our “land-owner” status ingrained within SL history - and I for one, cut loose from that “bondage” as I saw the harm to my Motherlanka from what the "greens" had done, especially RW=LTTE the mf pansy).

    Anyway, your criticism of the JVP goes way overboard in my view and frankly, you have missed the bus as you have conveniently disregarded:

    1) It was the JVP that came to the rescue when RW=LTTE mf pansy wanted to hand over nearly 40% of our sacred Motherland to the LTTE maggots through the ISGA (another name for "thamileelam;")

    2) It was the JVP that came to the rescue when CBK-the-Cow wanted to set up the P-TOMS (Tsunami aid program) with LTTE as equal partners whereby the Bitch did not think that if it had been established, the LTTE mf's would have had access to nearly $3 Billion worth of Tsunami aid that they (LTTE) would have converted into military purposes in no time! JVP challenged her and took the petition all the way to the Supreme Court of SL and have it abolished (thank God!).

    While both these grave dangers were happening, the SLFP nor any other entity (forget the UNP, they were either behind RW=LTTE pansy or too impotent to protest) within the country did squat to stop the inevitable ruination if either of those "deals" had clinched.

    In addition…

    3) If not for the JVP support, MR GOSL would have fallen long time ago and then all our talk here about “military matters” would be a moot point as the LTTE would have established the “thamileelam” (handed over by RW the she-male) long ago!

    So, before you go on your myopic anti-JVP harangue the next time, dude I suggest you think carefully with an open mind and not through the lenses of SL party politics (i.e as a true SL patriot and not a “green” a “blue” or a “red”).

    OaO Asithri

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  128. Well said asithri. Let's forget the party and focus on their actions. The JVP has done everything right in the past few years. Even though both major parties have tried to either embrace them or marginalize them, they have not been tempted to take short-sighted actions to get some ministry posts.
    At the same time they have done everything to support the defence forces. If they support the budget this time it will show again that they will do what is needed to keep the current government going just to see the end of LTTE's military power - regardless of them disagreeing with the direction the country is going with regard to the economy or corruption. I don't know what more you can ask of them.

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  129. CBK and Ratwatte were fools when it came to warfare. Why did our soldiers have to fight hand to hand combat from house to house with the LTTE cadres when we ran out of ammo in middle of the 1995 siege of Jaffna city? Poor planning thats why.

    Chandrika actually wanted to rent 4 F-16 jets from PAK and USA, cause she thought that these four jets will win the war. How foolish can one get?

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  130. Well said Asithri. Partisan politics are ruining the country.
    ------------

    Defence Column.
    -Nation

    Click here.

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  131. The HS748 is what was commonly called Avro although Avro is the manufacturer. One was famously blown up by LTTE at Ratmalana from what I can remember.
    I think these were mostly replaced by Harbin Y-12s.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbin_Y-12

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  132. We also had two Harbin Y-8s, which are copies of Antonov A-12s, which were very similar to Hercules C130.

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  133. Tropicalstorm ..thanks for your comments bro..The reason for the question was:I was thinking of a hypothetical war scenario (hopefully will never happen)where US planes F14,F15,F16,F18..series had to operate from russian soil.During the russian winter say minus 20Dec is experienced at ground level.I am thinking of the tyres here as well.I just wonder how the aircraft will perform..I was of the opinion that russian aircraft although lacking in superior electronics were much more "hardy" aircraft suitable for very cold climates.I think the russian mindset is one of building quantity to quality?

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  134. As for human rights..Well said gentlemen.The question is:Does one persons "human right" differ from another?.Fx:Did A.Balasinghams human rights differ from Karunas quantitatively and qualitatively? or pinochets from the thousands he brutally murdered?

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  135. The other Question is:What happens to someone who takes away another persons "human right" to live:FX..what happens to adele balasingham who converted 100's of sheltered innocent northern tamil girls into suicide bombs?.

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  136. Does anyone know if the Hon prez has decided to abrogate the CFA..If so does this mean the norweigians will have to go elsewhere for their "holiday in the sun"

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  137. totally true about the JVP asthiri. well done for pointing it out. when it comes to standing up for the sinhalese people the JVP is always willing to go fisty cuffs. deluded or not, they mean business and i like that about them.

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  138. JVP is the best example for "party first". How good they are they even fool us saying country first.

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  139. Asithri, Lankapura and other patriots,

    I agree on some points that JVP did good things...
    However , JVP doesn't deserve to be elected...I don't live in the past...JVP is still believe in the revolution and they still live in the past..
    Take a look at the the JVP's recent past history..


    1) JVP organise mass student protests mainly using Sinhalese students from the uni's and schools..
    The immense damaged done by these strikes are immesurable..

    2). JVP basically wants to ban all private educational institutes which are mainly catering to the Sinhalese students.

    3).Because of the JVP action no of students went overseas is in thosands..Sri Lanka lost vital foreign exchange because of that. These students end up immigrants in those countries after they finish education, there by helps the brain drain of experts from Sri Lanka..


    4).JVP by organising mass student protests,strikes makes already violent atmosphere even more unhealthy for any prospective investor to the South..The investors go elsewhere because of that and they end up going to more peaceful India..

    5). Can any of you tell me a month that went by without a studnet protests/strikes organised by the JVP?

    6). GO to the lankatruth.com, every link in the home page of that site refers to active strikes and protests.

    7). I am sure JVP will win the guiness record for most no of strikes...

    8). Did any of our universities achived anything significant in the world of science for the last 50 years..(Except for some few individuals nothing significant happened)..

    9) JVP opposeed every effort of Sri Lankans to open joint higher educational institutes in Sri Lanka..(JVP simply wants them banned..)

    Man, the list is endless...

    I can go on forever...The above is based on the JVP's recents activities...

    10)
    While the JVP is protecting the University students affiliated to their organisations they intimidate rest of them..
    11).

    JVP sponsored uni organisations go to the extent of hostage taking of Senior Lecturers..(Man that is world first from Sri Lanka..I think that sort of thing never happened...True their were student shootings in US, but they are just individuals, not a collective like JVP thugs.)



    However I believe they can be further reformed.

    Someone should seriously tell the JVP that their practice of strikes must be stopped and leave the uni's alone for them to function as uni's rather than prisons..Otherwise we will go to stone age with them.

    On another front,
    JVP's position in the past helps India to hardned its policy towards Sri Lanka.


    Because of these things,
    I will vehemently oppose JVP policies regarding many things, specially the Higher education in Sri Lanka..

    Until JVP is fully reformed, we will have total choas in the South ..

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  140. I will wait until the budget to comment more about the JVP.

    JVP is living in a dream like the LTTE.

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  141. Patriots,

    I don't care about you guys political affiliations...

    End of the day , what matters is to feel in the heart that, we did the right thing for the country...

    I am no fan of either UNP nor SLFP...However I will not vote for the UNP until such time, we resolve the current problem..

    I will not vote for the JVP either..

    If their is a good candidate from PA , I might consider of voting.

    That is it.

    Sorry , we have to focus on the main threat rather than the Southern politics.


    Lets call a truce on this issue..lol..

    ReplyDelete
  142. Reposted after a correction.


    The problem with Russian Antonov's is that they are poorly maintained.
    The few we got from Ukraine are the worst.That is after the break up of USSR. Those antonov's we got from corrupt officials of those countries.Strangely our SLAF guys didn't check them properly either..
    That is why we end up with the impression that ANTONOV's are bad...But that is not the case..
    True there was a surge of crashes of Russian aircrafts during the period of 1992-2003.Reason for that is, after the break up , individual republics claimed the fleet of thosands of Russian aircrafts..There wasn't enough regulations and maintenance procedures in place of those republics after they owned them.
    There was virtual chaos in those republics for a decade or so..The reason for that is the Western governments itself..They engineered the break up of the USSR.Now we are reaping the consequences of that.Surge of Terrorism is direct result of that..

    Going back to oringinal points of this comment,...
    Before the break up of the former USSR, there wasn't a single crash of any Russian International Flight.At peak they were flying well over 1000 internation flights a week using mainly Ilushin jets IL-62 and IL-76..IL-86 was built purely for the Olympics of 1980 in Moscow....Popular belief in Russia is that even if everything fails in those Russian built aircrafts, the engines won't stop...Those Ilushins/YAK's or Antonov's are super in that sense...The mechanical side of the things are perfect with any Russian product, but when it comes to interior or micro electronics, they are not...
    The reason for that is, most of the Electronics came from the former republics of Lithuania and Latvia and before the break up of the USSR, those countries virtually stopped producing any new electronic products. And those countries stopped supplying good electronics to other republics of the union when Nationalists came to power in those republics..They blamed Russia for the occupation and the rest is history..That is why the USSR couldn't catch up with the west in terms of electronics..In terms of quality control, former USSR was way down the list..Unlike in the west Everything was mass manufactured in the USSR ..That is because of the communism...Now things have changed..They are on the right track..I bet, Russia will build supperior things in years to come...They have enough unis to churn out 100000 engineering graduates alone per year..Where as we are sitting ducks with JVP's suicidal policies..

    The Russian cars/planes will start in minus -35'C blizerds in Siberia or the Far North/East of the country..

    For the money you pay for their technology, it's worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  143. Tangara, good points.. some of the actions and policies of JVP outside the realm of national defence may be highly sus. When it comes to vote the people of Sri Lanka will have to judge based on all these factors. We can hope that if they ever come to power they won't try to implement some silly communist policies that hasn't worked anywhere else and stuff up the country even more.
    But as a party that almost holds the balance of power they have done the right thing as far as defence is concerned - and that's the number 1 priority right now. Let's call it a truce :-)

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  144. Mahinda Rajapaksa road in Palestine; A birthday gift to President


    Palestinian government had decided to name the road that leads to Sri Lankan embassy in Palestine as Mahinda Rajapaksa Road. The Palestinian government had announced this in a special statement issued to greet the President on his 62 birthday which falls on today.

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  145. whatever happened tp the soviet super-figter with swept-wings,namely the SU-37 Berkut? & also the Mig-33/35..

    I tend tend to disagree the F-15 is superior to russian one's..in a one on one dogfight,with say a SU-27/35,the F-15 is gonnna get cloberred..moreover,during israel's 1983 Lebanenon 'adventure',their F-15's were repeatedly 'outflown',by syrian AF Mig-25 'Foxbats'..

    The Saudi's F-15's are designated F-15S & their radar is an inferior version,compared to what the Israeli's operate on their F-15's..

    Out of the current gen of fighters,i really admire the soviet SU-27/35 'flanker'family,the french dassault Mirage 2000-5/9 & Rafale & of course that spacious & comfy beauty the Eurofighter Typhoon..mmmm..delicious...wish we had one....

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  146. renegade

    The F-15 has not met a SU-27/30 in a real fight yet. To be fair the SU-27/30 flankers were designed to defeat the F-15 eagles. In response the Americans designed F-22 raptor to defeat the flankers.

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  147. PAK-FA (Sukhoi Su-50) Is Underway to counter F22 raptor :)

    Checked Out..

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAK-FA

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  148. Hi Guys,

    I have seen in numerous occasions that we are talking endlessly here about Aircraft that are either out of reach of our budgets i.e. 170M or too sophisticated with features that we would never ever would use while our ground challenges are very different from the capabilities of such craft.

    The Aircraft experts here.. my question is, if you would given the ground realities of the Sri Lankan war front, and if you would given the task to purchase aircraft, what is/are the cheapest and the best aircraft you would come-up with that is currently in the market?

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  149. BTW, these countries who develop such aircraft should be willing to sell them to us too..

    ReplyDelete
  150. Jiffy and Asithri, all you need to know about the JVP could be garnered from two words: Parivasa Anduwa. Remember that? Amid the total mismanagement of the war by Chandrika and Ratwatte, all the loses we suffered on the battlefield, the first recession in the country's history, 8 hour power cuts, the opposition was ready to bring down that messed up government. But the JVP decided to prop up the government cos it was more beneficial to themselves.

    The factor the JVP bases their decision making on is how many votes they can get by taking certain stands on issues. During the CFA they realized the best way to gain popularity was by opposing the peace talks and taking a Sinhala nationalist approach. It was totally against their previous policies, but who cares? The more votes the better.

    I mean look at things, the leftists and Marxists of the past (and present, like Vikramabahu for instance) have been strong supporters of Tamil independence. The JVP didn't just decide to totally change their ideology for nothing. They figured out how beneficial it would be for themselves in the polls.

    And don't forget, Wijeweera wrote in his book that he supported the creation of a semi-autonomous state for Tamils in the north and east. Ask any JVPer today, and they'll tell you they still follow Wijeweera's teachings to the dot.

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  151. In this cruicial moment, if JVP did anything to bring down the government, the patriotic Sri Lankans will never forgive JVP again.

    Brining down this government at this important juncture means clearing giving a winning hand to the LTTE.

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  152. noltte=peace

    Well I am no expert on military aircraft, but I think that buying the cheap yet effective MIG-27 was a very good move by the SLAF. It is a good ground attack aircraft designed to do just that.

    Maybe if we can upgrade some of our MIG-27s to perform some air-to-air combat like the Indians did with some of theirs, then we have an aircraft that can get airboure fast to take on the tin cans in time.
    -----------------------------------
    On the other hand, if we have lots of money(wishful thinking), then we could go and buy some SU-30 flankers. This craft will perform both air to air combat and ground attacks to perfection. It has a good payload too.

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  153. Will say our SLAF want carpet bomb the LTTE FDLs. What are the options we have?

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  154. illegal.existance,

    I don't like to bat for JVP. But let me point out one thing. Your following statement is factually incorrect.
    "And don't forget, Wijeweera wrote in his book that he supported the creation of a semi-autonomous state for Tamils in the north and east. Ask any JVPer today, and they'll tell you they still follow Wijeweera's teachings to the dot."

    I read the above mentioned book around 15-20 years back. Now I don't remember everything in it. But I am pretty sure that he didn't support such an autonomous state in that book. But the whole theme was built around a view opposing such an eventuality. As I heard there was such a faction around 1980 headed by Lional Bopage and he had to leave the JVP for sticking to that view.

    I have one JVP friend and he is dead against such an autonomous state.

    ReplyDelete
  155. Tangara, Asithri... thanks for mentioning my name..

    SLAF should have good intel anyway, and they may have done their job.

    It is only the Repair-shop that has been bombed.. Puthukkdiuruppu South (of what already been bombed) and Kandamadu North East to look and some big surprises on the card if any bridy wants to explore.


    Colombo not having a Terrorist Database is a big advantage to the LTTE terrorists.

    ReplyDelete
  156. noltte=peace

    If you want to carpet bomb the LTTE FDLs then heavy bombers are required. The B-52, B-1 Lancer, T-95, Tu-22, Tu-160 etc are good candidates for the job, but they are too expensive for us at the moment.

    We could modify our C-130 cargo planes to carry bombs. Or we could buy a couple of second hand Il-76 cargo planes and heavily modify the inside to carry bombs and nothing but bombs.

    ReplyDelete
  157. Noltte=peace,
    Totally agree with you mate. If JVP helps to bring down this government people won't forget them for that and they would be committing a political hara-kiri.

    But if we go with their behavior in the recent past its obvious that nothing like that would happen. If there is a risk of government being defeated from the budget I am pretty sure they will abstain from voting. If the government is winning they would oppose the budget (I guess). There is a nice analysis in "The Island". Even though the writer is prejudiced against JVP (as many others) it is a good article. At the moment I can't access "the Island". I will post it later some time.

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  158. According to SL Guardian JVP is going to support the budget. I guess part of my prediction was wrong.

    JVP support the government.

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  159. Reading thru some of the other defence related blogs, it becomes quite clear that some of the LTTE keyboard warriors surf these forums regularly to gather and analyze data that's been strewn areound by over-zealous bloggers. The information load from the irresponsible blogging must be becoming an easier source of somewhat dependable information, even though most of it is not critically important. It is said that a missing nail in the shoe of one horse led to losing a war, and similarly it is the little things that causa major disasters.
    I am not for any form of censorship, but would like to make this an opportunity to remind everyone to exercise caution, and think twice about what you publish.

    Thanks

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  160. SL

    I believe the Norwegians and the Swedes built some cold weather tolerant fighters that were really good.
    DO not know how good any of these are, when compared to the more well known jest built by the US and the Russians.

    ReplyDelete
  161. Guys,
    Please read the following news item. It states that TRO chief of England is in US custody now and is accused of supplying submarine making technology to LTTE. If true .....

    click here.
    It is the first item under "Puwath".

    ReplyDelete
  162. High-altitude carpet bombing FDLs B-52 or Tu-22 style is a non-starter I think.. too expensive and not effective. Wasn't effective against the viet cong, don't see how it will work against a much more advanced enemy. In any case what can that do that MBRLs can not?

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  163. Cheaper to carpet bomb the FDLs than MBRL fire in some occasions.. when you have to bomb only a long strip of deployment that is not hugely wide. In MBRL, you have to pay for the Rocket Engine, which is expensive than the warhead. Free fall ariel bombs, you do not have the cost of boosters.

    I am not talking about a B-52 or IL-76, but a short-range Cargo Jet liner modified to conduct free-fall bomb raids. So it can reach the altitudes over 10K ft, and should able to carry about 4-5 tons of a load at a time. Then unleash the terror on terrorists.

    Would be handy,

    1. when terrorists come in massive formations to over-run camps

    2. terrorist FDLs.

    That would be ideal in Muhammalai, Vanni FDL situations and attacking some of the LTTE make-shift jungle camps, which do not have much overhead protection. We saw many such camps in Toppigala.

    Correct me if I am wrong.

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  164. WOW, Island has nailed it on the head

    http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20071119_02

    I love to read Island Editorial as it always captures what needs to be captured. And the Editor is not afraid to criticise the government when it is required to do so either.

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  165. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  166. Tropicalstorm
    ".... it becomes quite clear that some of the LTTE keyboard warriors surf these forums regularly to gather and analyze data that's been strewn areound by over-zealous bloggers."

    Thanks for highlighting the above. Some people who supply these information has a popular logic. It goes as follows.

    "LTTE has a very organized intelligence network. They are so superior that they have access to everything that we are going to divulge + lot more. So there is no harm discussing this information. People should know everything"

    But the fact they forget (intentionally some times) is that amount of resources LTTE would have to spend to get these inf. if they weren't freely available. (Money, Human hours, risk of being exposed, etc.)

    And another important thing we tend to forget most of the times is the fact that the intelligence related capabilities of guerrilla movements are vastly blown up by the media. In certain instances they are able to make devastating attacks using all the information they acquired. But the mistake most do here is generalizing such successes to day today activities of these movements and overestimating their capabilities.

    Underestimating the enemy would be bad. But overestimating can be worse. Making the enemy feel inferior is one way of winning the war. I can see one or two LTTE chaps trying to do the same in these blogs.

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  167. noltte=peace

    You want an aircraft that can carry 4-5 tons of bombs? Each Mid-27 can carry upto 4 tons of bombs. Heck a SU-30 can carry over 7 tons of bombs.

    No man, in order to carpet bomb you need more than 4-5 tons. The An-32s we have can only carry a cargo of upto 7 tons, so our best bet would be to modify our C-130s into carrying lots of free fall bombs. This won't happen cause we need these Hercules aircrafts since we only have 2 of them.

    If you want an aircraft that is smaller than B-52 and Il-76 but still packs a punch when used as a converted heavy bomber, then I can only think of the Chinese Shaanxi Y-8(copy of An-12).

    The Y-8 can carry a payload of 20 tons, with extensive modifiction we can use it to drop lots and lots of free fall bombs at a time. It would also be wise to have some kind of electronic countermeasures installed in the aircraft to prevent it from being shot down by LTTE MANPADs.

    The Chinese will be willing to sell the Shaanxi Y-8 to us, we could ask their help in modifying the aircraft.

    Here is a picture of the Y-8:

    "http://www.sinodefence.com/
    airforce/airlift/y81.asp"

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  168. For sri lankan situation, we need Super multirole aircraft something like Eurofighter typhoon. but it's impossible get our hands in one of them cos, Expensive, European nations never allows the deal. in fact we can purchase MIG29SM or SMT variant which suits our needs most of the time (Multirole Fighter). we have added advantages over choosing Mig29SM cos we have pilots whom friendlier with Mig Cockpits (Mig27) plus our neighbor country (India) using that Aircraft for sometime and we can get our pilots trained out there. plus we are not bound to any conditions (because we are dealing with non-Western government (Russia). plus the purchasing price will be very low when compared to those western Aircrafts.

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  169. I sincerely hope that our defence authorities have seriously thought about what has been mentioned in “Lakbima” (as quoted by Hemantha) regarding submarine making technology. It will a serious threat to out Naval Assets in future.

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  170. This is the objective,

    Before attacking the FDLs by ground, first you would treat the FDLs with carpet(ish) round from above. Then finish-off the bunkers if any left of them.

    On the other-hand, carpet type operation is good to stop mortar and arti positions when precision strike is not possible.

    Also as mentioned, make-shift camps can be well treated to extinction for a lower cost.

    I am not an aircraft expert.. so do not know whether a Mig 27 or 29 would allow you to carry that kind of quantities of free-fall bombs.

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  171. Noltte & GE, even if we were to buy sufficient Y-8s for a heavy bomber wing (one or two are useless), I very much doubt whether we have the capability to modify them to drop bombs. Remember, you also need all-weather sighting systems. Without such bombsights the planes will be next to useless. If you watched the recent fires in California, you'd have seen them use a DC-10 to water-bomb areas of burning forest, with a smaller lead plane calling the drop for the DC-10 pilot. It was extemely inaccurate, even with the DC-10 flying low and slow (which would be suicide for a bomber).

    Even if with the necessary mods AND an efficient bombsight, it's unlikely that the bombers could be used against attacking LTTE formations. In Vietnam, the USAF used B-52s against attacking NVA/VC formations, but only in areas where there were no civil populations. In recent times, use of B-52s in the close-support role has been minimized due to the fallout (it was a B-52 bombing run against the Kalai Jhangi fortress in Afghanistan that injured Hamid Karzai killed and injured many US & UK special forces).

    They could still be used against FDLs, but I don't see any significant advantage over a fighter-bomber such as the MiG-27 or Kfir. B-52s have a massive payload advantage over US fighter-bombers like the F-16 or F/A-18, so it makes sense in certain situations, but a modified Y-8 won't have such a payload advantage, and will be far more inaccurate.

    The US already has a fleet of B-52s and C-130s, so it's logical that they use 'em where possible. It's illogicaal for us to go buy something that needs heavy mods for little effect.

    If we're going to to do mods, why not convert those C-130s and Y-8s into Spectre or Magic Dragon type gunships?

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  172. GE, as I pointed out before we already had 2 Harbin Y-8s used purely for troop transport. Same aircraft, just made somewhere else in China. Probably out of service now.
    There were rumors that they were used to drop some highly combustible 'substances' in to jungles where LTTE camps were located.

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  173. It is near Midnight here in NY.

    Hope the president wins the Budget Vote to survive another year to defeat the LTTE maggots (borrowed from Asithri).

    Thanks all the guys for inputs.

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  174. Tropicalstorm..thanks for you comments.
    speaking about carpet bombing..
    Its not just the planes it is the bombs also.We dont want to provide the LTTE with a large number of unexploded bombs "duds" (given to us by pakistan??) which they can use against the forces.If we are speaking about spending money how about those mobile(vehicle mounted) modern field guns..that fire say 30/40 shells/ min-(not sure of the firing rate)..this is like using MBRLs.

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  175. "my question is, if you would given the ground realities of the Sri Lankan war front, and if you would given the task to purchase aircraft, what is/are the cheapest and the best aircraft you would come-up with that is currently in the market?"

    Without a doubt, given our budget, the best next generation aircraft for the SLAF would be second hand Mig-29SM multirole fighters. New fighters either Western/Eastern are too expensive for us.

    The cheapest western made fighter available is F-16 A/B and C/D models which start at around a USD 15mn for a very basic model (new I version is around USD 70mn). However, no western made aircraft will be made available to us.

    If we are buying new aircraft, the best for the SLAF would be the Chinese/Pakistan made JF-17/CF-1 Thunder which is just entering service. Its available with western/Israeli or Chinese electronic systems/weapons. The cost is around USD 15-20mn.

    Su-30 would be nice and has a much heavier payload than all the above, but the starting price for a new aircraft is around USD 30-35mn, so even a second hand aircraft would be too expensive for us.

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  176. TNA threatened not to vote against budget

    The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday complained to the Speaker that its Parliamentarians from the east had been threatened with death by the Pillayan cadres if they voted against Budget in Parliament today.


    Party Secretary MP Mavai Senadhirajah told the Daily Mirror yesterday that a son-in-law of a TNA MP in the Batticaloa district had been abducted by an unknown gang yesterday afternoon in Kalavanchikudi. “Pillayan cadres had threatened the TNA MPs from the Ampara and Batticaloa districts asking them not to vote against the budget,” he said.


    He also claimed that relatives of those MPs would be abducted if they voted against the budget.


    Mr. Senadhirajah also said that Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara agreed to take up the issue with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

    Source "Daily Mirror"

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  177. David

    I think that our guys do have the ability to modify a Y-8 to carry bombs. The SLAF guys have shown in the past that they can think outside of the box and be resourceful. It will be a challenge, but I think they could pull it off.

    A modified Y-8 will never be as effective as a B-52 or B-1B, but it can get a certain amount of bombs to the skies and then drop them off. So, technically it is possible to get a Y-8 to carry 20 tons of bombs. The SLAF have had past experience in using cargo planes to drop barrel bombs before. In such undertakings accuracy was not the goal, but the volume of firepower was.

    I think a Y-8 flying over LTTE FDL areas dropping 15-20 tons of bombs will definately have an effect, not a big a effect as B-52s, but a noticable effect nevertheless. It would be useless in targeting areas of the FDLs where only 300m seperate SLA troops from LTTE cadres, too risky.

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  178. David
    "If we're going to to do mods, why not convert those C-130s and Y-8s into Spectre or Magic Dragon type gunships?"

    just what i was about to suggest but can they survive against the ltte anti aircaft threats???

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  179. GE
    if memory serves me correctly didn’t one of our Y8 carrying improvised bombs blow up in mid air over the Jaffna peninsula a few years back

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  180. C'mon GE, just saying our guys have the capability isn't good enough. Can you site any examples of such previous mods? Rolling barrel bombs out of the back of an Avro isn't really heavy bombing, and most of that was very ineffective. For a Y-8 to carry 20 tons of bombs, it will need a bomb bay with doors, internal racks and external wing-mounted racks. Has the SLAF or MoD been capable of doing ANY bomb-carrying mods to previous aircraft? No. And as I said before, after all of that, you need a bombsight caliberated for that particular aircraft. If not, the bombing will be ineffective from high altitude and suicide at low altitude.

    I'm all for thinking out of the box, but please be realistic.

    Jonathan, the Spectre is highly specialised and usually operates under particular conditions and at night. It cannot be used as aa heavy bomber or against fixed LTTE bases where there will be heavy AAA. But it can be used as close air support or to break up attacking enemy formations.

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  181. "Carpet bombing" an area needs a whole fleet of aircraft to have any effect. Even in Vietnam a large fleet of B-52's would be used for a single sortie. So modifying a few Y-8's would not have much impact.

    The logical target if you are using a whole load of dumb bombs would be a concentrated enemy build up, with very little armour/fortifications. If you look at the LTTE FDL's it seems to consist of a narrow trench with intermittent fortified bunkers. The "splatter effect" of dumb bombs dropped from an improvised heavy bomber wouldn't do much damage against something like this.

    B-52's etc. have sophisticated electronics which allow them to use dumb bombs even from a safe altitude. An improvised Y-8 would probably have to come in fairly low and slow to hit a target with any degree of precision, which would make them very vulnerable to enemy SAM's and AA fire.

    The SLAF is known to have used 4-6 fighters for a sortie in the past, so theoretically capable of carrying as much as 16-24 tons of ordnance, which can be deployed much more accurately, as and when needed. This includes rockets, which are quite effective for straffing things like FDL's.

    The existing/modern fighters and Mi-24's are good enough for attacking FDL's when backed up with proper intelligence.

    We can also look at guided artillery shells (Krosnopol and Chinese copy) with our troops using laser designators to paint the LTTE FDL/bunkers.

    I don't think there is any chance of locally modifying a C-130 into anything like a Spectre, which uses very sophisticated electronics to engage the targets.

    Its good to use local skills/manufacturing wherever possible. However we should stick to what we can do, i.e. APC's, FAC's and bigger vessels, mini UAV's and start manufacturing basic munitions.

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  182. Jonathan, GE, Noltte=peace and David.


    Yes some time back, before we got Kfirs a Y-8 was lost in that manner(improvised bomber)


    As for Davis idea of a Gunship, it could work. I for one would love to see that happen.
    Our AF R&D and Engineering should try it out (I don’t think getting a Y-8 wouldn’t be hard)…


    But not with 7.62 or 12.7mm Gatlings (assuming we are going to use gatling guns) it would have to be 23mm upwards. To give the Y-8/C-130 the safe altitude it needs to stay out of LTTE small arms/light AA range (about 3000M/10000ft). As for LTTE MANPADS, we would need a good countermeasure system like the ones on the NO 4 sqds bell-412EP's.


    For the armament the modified M61A1 (20mm) would top the list because it has been used effectively in this role.

    Twin 23mm cannons would be a cheaper/crude alternative. But it would properly be less effective. As for the Russian Gatlings, they have not been used in this role to my knowledge.

    So my bet would be with the Gsh-301 cannon, OA-17A 30mm or the Gsh-23 23mm cannons. That is if we are going Russian…

    BUT what would really do the trick would be the ATK Bushmaster 30mm MK44 (which is used currently to upgrade the AC-130 gun ships in Iraq/Afga). They are accurate and have the range and firepower to achieve what we need done!


    We would need a good day/night(IR/thermal) AISR with a good FC system. The crew would have to be good well oiled team.

    We could couple a 40mm L/60 to it (great for hard targets) and maybe..just may be a breach loaded 81/82mm automatic mortar!! Now that would be my night mare gift for uncle prabha for Xmas!!

    Two 30mm MK44 on the sides with one 40mm L/60 and a automortar + good night optics+ gunners sight + SAR radar and great crew…not that’s a great package!


    Your ideas please.

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  183. Shay,

    "I don't think there is any chance of locally modifying a C-130 into anything like a Spectre, which uses very sophisticated electronics to engage the targets"

    Yes it would be very very hard, and no one(US or others) would proberly help us to do it, but its an idea worth looking at...

    I agree that UAVs, APC, ammo and boats are where we could start off..but dont you think atleast a fesibility study of the idea would teach the SLAF a lot?

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  184. http://tinyurl.com/2w9ow2


    If you guys missed this one...

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  185. David

    I did not say or imply that dropping barrel bombs from Avros heavy bombing. I just said that SLAF have taken a stab in the direction of creating a crude heavy bomber. I can't give you specific examples of previous modification projects carried out by the SLAF, but I can tell you that they know how to be resourceful.

    You make it sound as if bombing from a high altitude without a bombsight makes the bombs not explode when they hit the ground. I know fully well that a modified Y-8 won't be able to match the effectiveness of a heavy bomber, but I am also sure that if a crude heavy bomber releases bombs over the target area, it will cause some damage. Not everyone of the bombs will hit a target, but it can have an effect on a sizable target area.

    I think that the SLAF once tried to modify one of their C-130 into gunship and did carry out some trials, not sure how effective it was.

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  186. Politics

    JVP decides to oppose budget, Basil tells president


    The JVP has unofficially informed the government that it has decided to vote against Budget 2008, citing an absence of any response to its four preconditions as one of the reasons for the decision, according to the Presidential Secretariat.

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  187. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  188. Speaking of bombers.. this is chinese version of the Tu-16
    http://www.sinodefence.com/airforce/groundattack/h6.asp

    I assume the performance is the same if not better than what can be achieved with a Y-8 mod.
    The article explains some of the problems and other options:


    The Tu-16/H-6 was originally designed to carry high-drag, free-fall general-purpose bombs inside its internal weapon bay to perform WWII-style level bombing missions. In order to perform such a mission, the bomber must be able to penetrate the enemy air defence composed of fighter aircraft and surface-to-air missiles. With its obsolete aerodynamic design and lacklustre performance, the H-6 would have a very low survivability in such an operation. Therefore, since the late 1990s the PLA has been exploring the concept of “cruise missile carrier aircraft”, where the bomber serves as an aerial platform to launch stand-off, precision guided weapons outside the range of enemy air defence. This efforts has led to the introduction of the H-6H carrying two KD-63 air-to-surface cruise missiles in 1999, and the more advanced H-6K carrying six unknown model cruise missiles in early 2007.

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  189. nemesis,

    Yeah, if the SLAF wants to so research into one it can do to modify existing aircraft to a different role, it would be a starting point.

    Incidentally, it was mentioned in the LNP Kfir thread that the SLAF in the late 1990's experimented with modifying an AN-32 to carry LGB's. After a few unsuccessful tests the project was discontinued.

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  190. "I did not say or imply that dropping barrel bombs from Avros heavy bombing. I just said that SLAF have taken a stab in the direction of creating a crude heavy bomber."

    It wasn't an attempt to create a heavy bomber, GE. It was an attempt to deliver crude petrol-based napalm substitutes and biological weapons (cholera-infected excrement), and no other aircraft could deliver this. However, it was mostly ineffective, and the idea was abandoned.

    "I can't give you specific examples of previous modification projects carried out by the SLAF, but I can tell you that they know how to be resourceful."

    I have seen no such signs of resourcefulness, GE. There was a period in the '80s and '90s when such "cottage-industry" enterprise was useful (similar to Israeli endeavours in their War of Independence, and that of the Rhodesian armed forces), but I fear that the LTTE has moved on, and the weapons we need caan no longer be home-made.

    "You make it sound as if bombing from a high altitude without a bombsight makes the bombs not explode when they hit the ground"

    They might explode, but they'll be useless if they don't hit the target. We're not trying to kill monkeys or blow up trees.

    " but I am also sure that if a crude heavy bomber releases bombs over the target area, it will cause some damage. "

    IF it hits the target. More likely it will miss from high altitude aand end up killing civilians.

    "Not everyone of the bombs will hit a target, but it can have an effect on a sizable target area. "

    What sizeable target, GE? We're not bombing industrial cities (which was what B-52s are meant to hit). Most targets in the NE require pinpoint accuracy. Most of the Arclight raids by the USAF in
    South Vietnam wasted huge amounts of high explosive for very little impact. They were only really successful against VC infrastructure (like the Ho Chi Minh trail) albeit with heavy civilian casualties or against North Vietnamese cities and ports. In Iraq and Afghanistan the USAF use B-52s singly or in pairs, and even then (in spite of precision bombsights and haand-held laser designators) with mixed results.

    It's a waaste of time, money, and resources for the SLAF to pursue such a wild goose when a fighter-bomber is a much more efficient aircraft.

    Nemesis, Shay, and Jonathan, I wasn't seriously thinking that we could convert a Y-8 or Herky into a Spectre, but it might be possible to replicate one of the older Magic Dragon or Spooky models of the Vietnam War. These had very simple gunsights, basically a crosshair painted on the pilots side window, onto which the guns were zeroed.

    Nemesis, Some Spectres carry a 105-mm auto-howitzer!

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  191. Speaking of C-130s. What happened to the SLAF C-130s? They were under repairs sometime back and I heard they had to cannibalize one C-130 to repair the other... They also sought Pakistan Air Force to get them repaired/serviced.

    A great addition from the Royal Air Force to the SLAF wings.. wonder whether if they are still flying ...

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  192. David

    We were strictly talking about bombing LTTE FDL areas. Sometimes the FDLs can become wide and add to that several kilometers of no-mans land in between the FDLs. As far as I know, there are no civilian settlements close by. This could be a good target for a modified Y-8. Especially when there is increased activity in those areas before an LTTE offensive thrust into government areas.

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  193. My bad, it was not a C-130 that the SLAF once tried to modify but a An-32 Antonov, an AN/AAS-35(V) pave penny laser tracker (same kind usually used by F-16s) was installed on the AN-32. Additional locally made steel pylons were added to the wings to the carry LGBs. I am 100% not sure if heavy caliber machine guns were attached to the aircraft, my sources gae conflicting reports on that.

    The Kfir thread in LNP also mentions this An-32 modification

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  194. "We were strictly talking about bombing LTTE FDL areas."

    What advantage would a modded Y-8 have over a flight of MiG-27s? It cannot bomb as accurately, and it will be far more vulnerable to AAA.

    The heavy bomber concept is a strategic weapon, invented for use between nation states in conventional war and upgraded for nuclear warfare. It has no place in the unconventional assymetrical warfare arena that we are engaged in. So having a proper factory-spec heavy bomber would still be of very limited use; a home-made one will be even less useful.

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  195. Can a MIG27 do level bombing?

    I am not taking about dropping one bomb at a time. This is about opening a bomb-bay and unloading large number of smaller bombs on a trench-line or a make-shift camp in a jungle.

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