• SL gradually build MDA capacity with support from friends

Sri Lanka continues to build its maritime domain awareness (MDA) capacity with the arrival of another, maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), donated by the Government of Australia, it is reliably learnt.

The aircraft which is expected to be ferried to Sri Lanka today is a Beechcraft KingAir 350 which had been in service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and has been refurbished and modernised to perform the maritime patrol role. It is learnt that Australia has provided training for Sri Lankan personnel on the platform.

It is understood that the maritime surveillance sensor suite which has been fitted to the aircraft have commonality with some of the systems which are onboard the US donated $ 19 million Beechcraft King Air 360ER aircraft which was inducted into the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fleet earlier this month.

The aircraft is the latest donation by the Australian Government in aid of capacity building Sri Lankan MDA and maritime crime prevention, and is expected to be inducted into SLAF service later this year. Australia and Sri Lanka have a close working partnership on combating transnational crime and improving regional security.