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Commander of the Air Force (Sri Lanka)

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Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force
ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාපති
Incumbent
Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa
since 30 June 2023
 Sri Lanka Air Force
Member ofNational Security Council
Reports toMinistry of Defence
Chief of Defence Staff
ResidenceAir Force House, Colombo
SeatAir Force Headquarters, Kumaran Rutnam road, Colombo 2
AppointerThe President
Term lengthNot fixed
Constituting instrumentAir Force Act, No. 41 of 1949
Formation2 March 1951; 73 years ago (1951-03-02)
as Commander of the Royal Ceylon Air Force
First holderGroup Captain Graham Bladon (as Commander RCyAF)
DeputyChief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Air Force
WebsiteOfficial website
Sri Lanka Air Force
Components
General Information
History
Aircraft
Leadership and ranks

The Commander of the Air Force is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Air Force. The current Commander of the Air Force is Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana. It is a position comparable to that of Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force acts as a deputy commander within the command structure.

All serving air force commanders have been of the rank of air marshal, promoted to the honorary rank of air chief marshal on retirement or on appointment to Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

List of commanders

No. Picture Commander Took office Left office Time in office Unit Ref.
1 Graham Bladon CBEBladon, GrahamAir Commodore
Graham Bladon
CBE
(1899–1967)		5 May 195024 October 19588 years, 172 days–
2 John Barker CB, CBE, DFCBarker, JohnAir Vice Marshal
John Barker
CB, CBE, DFC
(1910–2004)		24 October 195812 November 19624 years, 19 days–
3 Rohan Amerasekera DFC & BarAmerasekera, RohanAir Vice Marshal
Rohan Amerasekera
DFC & Bar
(1916–1974)		12 November 196231 December 19708 years, 49 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
4 Deshamanya Paddy MendisMendis, PaddyAir Chief Marshal
Deshamanya Paddy Mendis
(1933–2022)		1 January 19711 November 19765 years, 305 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
No. 5 Squadron SLAF
5 Harry Goonatilake USPGoonatilake, HarryAir Chief Marshal
Harry Goonatilake
USP
(1929–2008)		1 November 197630 April 19814 years, 180 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
6 Dick Perera VSVPerera, DickAir Chief Marshal
Dick Perera
VSV		1 May 198130 April 19853 years, 364 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
7 Walter Fernando VSVFernando, WalterAir Chief Marshal
Walter Fernando
VSV		1 May 198531 July 19905 years, 91 daysNo. 4 Squadron SLAF
8 Terry Gunawardena VSVGunawardena, TerryAir Chief Marshal
Terry Gunawardena
VSV		1 August 199016 February 19943 years, 199 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
9 Oliver Ranasinghe RWP, VSV, USPRanasinghe, OliverAir Chief Marshal
Oliver Ranasinghe
RWP, VSV, USP		17 February 19945 March 19984 years, 16 daysNo. 5 Squadron SLAF
10 Jayalath Weerakkody RWP, VSV, USPWeerakkody, JayalathAir Chief Marshal
Jayalath Weerakkody
RWP, VSV, USP		6 March 199815 July 20024 years, 131 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
No. 4 Squadron SLAF
11 Donald Perera VSV, USPPerera, DonaldAir Chief Marshal
Donald Perera
VSV, USP		16 July 200211 June 20063 years, 330 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
12 Roshan Goonetileke RWP, VSV, USPGoonetileke, RoshanMarshal of the Air Force
Roshan Goonetileke
RWP, VSV, USP
(born 1956)		11 June 200627 February 20114 years, 261 daysNo. 4 Squadron SLAF
13 Harsha Abeywickrama RWP, RSP, VSV, USPAbeywickrama, HarshaAir Chief Marshal
Harsha Abeywickrama
RWP, RSP, VSV, USP		27 February 201127 February 20143 years, 0 daysNo. 5 Squadron SLAF
14 Kolitha Gunathilake RWP, RSP, VSV, USPGunathilake, KolithaAir Chief Marshal
Kolitha Gunathilake
RWP, RSP, VSV, USP		27 February 201415 June 20151 year, 108 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
15 Gagan Bulathsinghala RWP, RSP, USP, VSVBulathsinghala, GaganAir Chief Marshal
Gagan Bulathsinghala
RWP, RSP, USP, VSV
(born 1961)		15 June 201512 September 20161 year, 89 daysNo. 4 Squadron SLAF
16 Kapila Jayampathy WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USPJayampathy, KapilaAir Chief Marshal
Kapila Jayampathy
WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP		13 September 201629 May 20192 years, 258 daysNo. 4 Squadron SLAF
17 Sumangala Dias RSPDias, SumangalaAir Chief Marshal
Sumangala Dias
RSP		30 May 20192 November 20201 year, 156 daysNo. 6 Squadron SLAF
18 Sudarshana Pathirana WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USPPATHIRANA, SudarshanaAir Chief Marshal
Sudarshana Pathirana
WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP		2 November 202029 June 20232 years, 239 daysNo. 5 Squadron SLAF
No. 10 Squadron SLAF		–
19 Udeni Rajapaksa RWP, VSV, USPRajapaksa, UdeniAir Marshal
Udeni Rajapaksa
RWP, VSV, USP		30 June 2023Incumbent1 year, 205 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
No. 8 Squadron SLAF		–

See also

References

  1. ^ "Past Commanders". airforce.lk. Sri Lanka Air Force. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
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