The Hon. Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera - Acting Minister of Defence
Acting Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekera provided figures on Sri Lanka Air Force deserters, stating there were 45 officers and 3,402 other ranks, with arrests and surrenders recorded between February and September 2025. He said absentees face disciplinary action and possible discharge, while eligible personnel may be retained after intelligence and police clearance, with the process taking about 30 days depending on the case. He also clarified that two C-130 aircraft are being transferred from the United States under the Excess Defense Articles framework, not purchased, with Sri Lanka expected to bear about USD 30 million for refurbishment, transport and technical support to strengthen heavy airlift capacity.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I answer as follows.
¶ 02 (a) (i) Deserters in the Sri Lanka Air Force: - Officers (Regular/Volunteer): 45 - Other ranks (Regular/Volunteer): 3,402
¶ 03 (ii) From 2025.02.22 to 2025.09.01: - Arrested by Civil Police: 109 - Surrendered to SLAF Police: 355 - Arrested by SLAF Police: 289
¶ 04 (iii) Disciplinary action is taken for absence, and discharge is effected under “Service No Longer Required”. Those willing to continue, and eligible under SLAF regulations, may be considered for retention after obtaining clearance reports from State Intelligence Service and relevant Police Stations regarding any offences committed during the period of absence.
¶ 05 (iv) Approximately 30 days, varying based on the disciplinary determinations, which depend on the length of absence.
¶ 06 (b) (i) This is not a purchase but a transfer/acquisition under an understanding between the United States and Sri Lanka, covering two C-130 aircraft.
¶ 07 (ii) Two aircraft.
¶ 08 (iii) All routine preservation services during long-term lay-up are being continued. SCH 881 last had maintenance scheduled on 2014.01.11 and SCH 880 on 2019.03.23, but neither subsequently received maintenance; both have been grounded since 2014 and 2019 respectively. Given the severe degradation of SLAF’s heavy airlift capability, the decision was taken to acquire two C-130s.
¶ 09 (iv) Not a purchase; a transfer. Objectives: enhance national security operations, humanitarian missions, UN peacekeeping support, and domestic/international airlift capacity.
¶ 10 (v) Under the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) framework, the aircraft are provided without paying their value; Sri Lanka bears estimated costs of about USD 15 million per aircraft (USD 30 million for two) for refurbishment, transport and technical support.
¶ 11 (vi) Currently, Antonov An-32B aircraft perform tasks with a payload of about 6.7 tons. A C-130 can carry about 18 tons, significantly improving strategic airlift.
¶ 12 (c) Does not arise.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 25 September 2025 ·No. 1759483897051145 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera - Acting Minister of Defence. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 25 September 2025. No. 1759483897051145. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/20077