News365.lk | Colombo
- Sri Lanka plans to procure four advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Israel for Rs. 4,261 million, Deputy Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekera said.
- The drones are intended to strengthen maritime surveillance and disaster response capabilities.
- Jayasekera made the announcement while speaking in Parliament.
How the deal will work
- The emergency procurement will be carried out on a government-to-government basis.
- It will be routed through BlueBird Aero Systems, in which Israel Aerospace Industries holds an equity stake.
Why the drones are needed
- The aircraft will monitor Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which spans 517,000 square kilometres, about 27 times the size of the country’s landmass.
- They will track suspicious vessels and help locate missing fishermen.
- They will also assist during natural disasters such as floods and cyclones.
- “The Sri Lanka Air Force is responsible for monitoring a large maritime area, and continuous surveillance using conventional aircraft is very costly. Therefore, we are proposing to acquire these unmanned aerial systems,” Jayasekera said.
What Sri Lanka will get
- The fleet will include two ThunderB aircraft with an endurance of up to 14 hours.
- The other aircraft are capable of flying for up to 20 hours.
- The systems support vertical or short take-offs with limited land.
- The package includes operational training and three years of maintenance support.
- Earlier talks anticipated only two units, but the revised arrangement provides four.
Funding
- The purchase will require no additional state funds.
- The cost will be met by diverting money previously allocated for Air Force helicopter maintenance under Financial Regulation 66.
- “Within the Air Force, the funds saved from maintenance costs previously allocated for helicopters will be utilized for this purpose. Therefore, there is no additional cost being requested or newly allocated,” Jayasekera said.
Next steps
- Once Parliament grants approval, the agreement will be reviewed by the Attorney General’s Department.
- It will then be submitted to the Cabinet.
- The government is targeting December to sign the deal.
