The Sri Lanka Army, a key institution of the State, is in a period of transition as it turns 75 years this month. The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) is at present undergoing an evolution, with the aim of transforming into an effective force that is both a deterrent and able to address a range of dynamic threats which Sri Lanka may face in the future. 

In many countries, such transitions take place following large-scale conflicts or when constitutional changes occur. Militaries like every other branch of governance, must evolve to remain effective and ‘fit for task’. With concerns about high defence expenditure over a prolonged post-war period, Sri Lanka in the recent past initiated a programme to ‘right size’ the armed forces to, aimed at a transition to a new force structure around 2030–2035.

When asked, what will the Sri Lanka Army look like in 2035? Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage told The Daily Morning: “The Sri Lanka Army is looking forward to a leaner but effective force structure. Future battlefield will be defined by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. There will be a 360-degree threat and challenges will be multifaceted. Physical boundaries will be blurred, and identification of friend or foe will be increasingly difficult. Technological advancements and the paradigm shifts in the information domain will play a big role in future conflicts. Appositely, the military force structuring should take into account; swiftness, precision, and efficiency in all aspects such as threat analysis, forecasting, decision-making, deployments, and responses to threats and challenges. Accordingly, we are focusing on sophistication and skills development. Our effectiveness will be achieved through modernisation and adaptation. By 2035 the Army will be technically advanced and ready to counter any conventional and nonconventional threat. Also, troops will be ready to respond to the dynamic threat profile”. 

Responding to a question about the possible future threats the Army was concerned about, Gen. Liyanage opined that: “Contemporary threats and challenges are transnational. Any such occurrence in the region and even anywhere in the globe will impact Sri Lanka as well.” He went on to explain that the perceived threats and challenges for the near term include but are not limited to; rise of violent extremism, economic insecurity, separatist ideologies and sentiments, religious disharmony and polarisation, racism, cyber security and crime, growth of armed non-state actors in the Indian Ocean region, climate change-linked adverse weather incidents and national disasters, social unrest, food and energy security, external influence and information warfare campaigns, unemployment-related issues, and issues linked transnational and organised crime.

The SLA has provided their input and recommendations to formulate the ‘Defence Review 2023’ which was compiled by the previous Government, with the report submitted to the political leadership, it is learnt. According to several senior staff officers of the SLA, The Daily Morning spoke to, the armed forces had held stakeholder consultations and formulated a threat outlook which had been used to draft their recommendations. According to them, the initial plan had been made for a target of 2030, and the SLA is following the plan. “Security and stability are paramount for Sri Lanka. The future SLA must be geared to deal with a wide range of threats. This is why we want to evolve the SLA into a professional, well-trained and equipped force that is agile and effective. We must be an effective deterrent, while being well tuned to address a range of asymmetric threats from almost every domain,” a senior staff officer said.

When asked how the SLA plans to train future soldiers and officers, Commander Liyanage said: “The ultimate aim of training is to ensure military success. Training provides the means to practise, develop and validate within constraints, the practical application of a doctrine. Similarly, it provides the basis for commanders and staff to exercise command and control. With consideration of the existing and future threats indicated earlier, our training doctrines and related publications will be updated, and they will provide the conceptual foundation for our troops in the future. Accordingly, our training curriculum and modules will be changed. Any professional military will base its training on conventional perceptions upon which basic training will be conducted. This will allow them to be versatile and would allow them to adapt when necessary.” 

It is learned that the SLA of 2030-35 is envisaged to be a well-trained and capable force, equipped with modern equipment and technology. “The fighting power will not only depend on the number of troops, with modernisation and quality of the well-trained personnel in our ranks, we will be a formidable force and have deterrent capabilities. Although numerically smaller that the SLA before, by 2030-35 the SLA will be highly mobile, more lethal, and better synergised with the Air Force, Navy and other agencies to be effective. Mobility, combat capacity, improved intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capacity is paramount to achieve this transition. While quantity has a quality of its own, we want to shift to a force structure where we prioritise quality over quantity,” a senior staff officer opined, adding that in the future, the SLA will seek to recruit a more qualified and capable cadre.