No. 3 Maritime Squadron is a maritime patrol squadron of the

Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; ; ) is the air force, air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major r ...

. It was disbanded in 1993 and its aircraft taken over by the No. 8 Light Transport Squadron. It was reestablished in 2019.

History

Maritime Squadron was established in 1971 at

SLAF China Bay SLAF may refer to *The Sri Lanka Armed Forces, the combined military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka **The Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; ; ) is the air force, air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed ...

to provide early warning by them air force commander

Paddy Mendis Air Chief Marshal Deshamanya Pathman Hariprasadha Mendis, FBIM (24 January 1933 – 18 January 2022) was a Sri Lankan aviator. He was the fourth Commander of the Royal Ceylon Air Force from 1971 to 1976. Early life and education The son of ...

, its units took part in operational duties during the

1971 JVP insurrection The 1971 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection (also known as the 1971 Revolt) was the first of two unsuccessful armed revolts conducted by the communist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the socialist United Front Government of ...

. The Squadron shifted to

SLAF Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) (commonly known as Colombo International Airport, Colombo–Bandaranaike International Airport, and locally as Katunayake International Airport) (IATA: CMB, ICAO: VCBI) is the main international airport ...

and again relocated to SLAF Base China Bay in the year 1988 to conduct surveillance operations against the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam ...

The SLAF has been in talks to acquire both Dornier Do228 and Kingair B360ER maritime reconnaissance aircraft from India and the United States respectively to enhance their operations since 2020. In 2022, the Squadron had been earmarked for expansion with the US Government agreed to provide two Beechcraft 360ER on a gratis basis under a foreign military sales contract to enhance the SLAF's maritime reconnaissance capability. and the Indian government lending a Dornier Do228 with technical assistants as part of defense agreements around the establishment of a Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre. Sri Lanka will purchase two more Dorniers on an Indian line of credit. The first Dornier was delivered in August 2022.

Aircraft operated

Current aircraft

* Beech King Air B200 * Beechcraft King Air 360ER - Inducted in 2024 *

Dornier 228 The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. 245 were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics ...

Beechcraft King Air 350 The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996.< ...

- Inducted in 2024

Former aircraft

Cessna Skymaster The Cessna Skymaster is an American twin-engine civil utility aircraft built in a push-pull configuration. Its engines are mounted in the nose and rear of its pod-style fuselage. Twin booms extend aft of the wings to the vertical stabilizers, ...

- 1978 *

De Havilland Dove The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report which, a ...

- 1971 *

Beechcraft Super King Air The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketing, marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was droppe ...

- 1986

Notable members

Marshal of the Sri Lanka Air Force Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated of ...

Roshan Goonatilake Marshal of the Air Force W. D. M. J. Roshan Goonetileke, RWP and bar, VSV, USP is a Sri Lankan senior air force officer. He was a former Governor of the Western Province of Sri Lanka. Born to Air Chief Marshal Harry Goonatilake, he joine ...

, RWP & BAR, VSV, USP, ndc, psc, SLAF

References

External links

* ww.airforce.lk/pdf/news%20paper/slaf/srilanka_ariforce.pdf FORCE REPORT SRI LANKA AIR FORCE {{DEFAULTSORT:No. 3 Squadron Slaf Military units and formations of the Cold War Military units and formations established in the 1970s Military units and formations disestablished in the 1980s 14