Air Force to acquire four Israeli drones for Rs. 4.2 b

Friday, 6 November 2026 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Defence Deputy Minister Aruna Jayasekera

Defence Deputy Minister Aruna Jayasekera yesterday told Parliament that Sri Lanka Air Force will procure four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Israel for Rs. 4,261 million to sharpen maritime surveillance and disaster response.

Calling it an emergency procurement, he said the deal was structured to draw no additional State funds and will be executed on a G2G basis through BlueBird Aero Systems, a supplier in which Israel Aerospace Industries holds equity. The drones will monitor the Exclusive Economic Zone, track suspect vessels, help locate missing fishermen and support operations during floods and cyclones.

The Parliament debated the supplementary estimate yesterday.

“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.

Two of the four aircraft are ThunderB models with endurance of up to 14 hours, while the others can fly for up to 20 hours and take off vertically or over short distances from constrained ground. The earlier plan envisaged two units.

The cost will be absorbed by savings on helicopter maintenance already budgeted for the Air Force, channelled under Financial Regulation 66, a provision allowing reallocation of approved funds.

“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,” the Deputy Minister said.

The package covers pilot and operator training and three years of maintenance support. Parliamentary approval is required before the agreement goes to the Attorney General’s Department for legal review and then to the Cabinet. The Government is targeting signature in December.