TO FACE LTTE AIR WING SRI LANKA WILL TAKE DELIVERY OF FIVE MODERN MIG29 FIGHTER JETS FROM RUSSIA

By Walter Jayawardhana

The Indian defense web quoting a Sri Lankan weekly said the Sri Lanka Air Force will purchase five Russian Mig 29 fighter jets with interceptor capabilities to face the challenge by the air wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

In addition to the Mig 29 the the Air Force also will upgrade its kfir fighter planes to have interceptor capabilities.

At present none of its fighter planes are having intercepter capabilities. Due to the lack of such capabilities Sri Lanka’s only International Air port remains closed at night.

The Indian defense web said, “Sri Lanka’s air force is shortly to take delivery of five advanced fighter aircraft from Russia to counter the threat posed by the LTTE’s air wing, The Nation newspaper reported Sunday. In addition to buying the five MiG 29 interceptors, Sri Lanka is looking to upgrade its ground attack Kfirs to interceptor role by adding radars and missiles, the paper said.

"Though the Sri Lankan officials were in talks with their Indian, Pakistani and Chinese counterparts, it is reliably learnt that the new MiG 29s joining the air force, are from Russia," the paper said, adding that India has been manufacturing the interceptor since the 1980s.

“The average price in the world market of the MiG 29 is in the range of US$ 15 million, it said.

“The MiG 29 fighter aircraft designed in the former Soviet Union, for an air superiority role entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983. It is now in use with the Russian Air Force (which reportedly has over 450), as well as in many other nations, including India (which has over 60).

“The MiG 29 was mainly produced to counter leading US fighter aircraft such as the F15 and F16 and in most of its variants has only an air to air strike capacity, the The Nation said. "If the necessary upgrades are not carried out on the newly acquired aircraft, their role would be limited to intercepting the LTTE's light aircraft, with limited contribution to the main task of the SLAF, which is ground attack."