SLAF earned USD 6 mn in 2021 – Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana

Text and picture by PRIYAN DE SILVA

Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana has said that the SLAF was able to earn USD 6 million in 2021 by deploying an aviation unit and troops on UN missions. He said that all the foreign exchange earnings had been handed over to the Treasury and the total amount handed over to the treasury by the SLAF since 2014 was USD 110 million.

The Air Force commander made this disclosure while briefing the media on the 71st anniversary celebrations of the SLAF, which falls on the 2nd of March 2022.

Air Marshal Pathirana said that in addition to the foreign exchange earned, the SLAF was saving the nation millions of dollars by carrying out maintenance of its fleet including the complete overhaul of Chinese manufactured aircraft and heavy maintenance of American manufactured aircraft locally.

He reiterated that as foreign exchange was scarce now, the SLAF was deploying its aircraft sparingly and only for the most essential missions.