Air Tigers

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The Air Tigers (Vaanpuligal) is the air-wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, who are fighting a civil war with the Government of Sri Lanka. The LTTE is the only rebel organization which has an air wing, without outside support. Though the existence of the Air Tigers had been the subject of speculation for many years, the existence of the wing was only revealed after an attack in March 2007.

1 Early reports of the Air Tigers
2 Alleged air attack on Palali
3 Katunayake Air Force Base attack
4 Palali raid
5 Colombo raids
6 Anuradhapura attack
7 Weli Oya Attack
8 Summary of capabilities
9 References
10 See also
11 External links

[edit] Early reports of the Air Tigers

The LTTE credits the formation of the Air Tigers air-wing to Colonel Shankar, alias Vythialingam Sornalingam, a graduate of Hartley College in Point Pedro. He was an aeronautical engineer with Air Canada, with an Engineering Degree in Aeronautics from Hindustan Engineering College in Tamil Nadu, India.

On November 27–28, 1998, Tamilnet reported^[1]^[2] the LTTE-operated Voice Of Tiger radio station had claimed “Aircraft of the Air Tiger wing of the Liberation Tigers [had] sprinkled flowers over the cemeteries of the slain LTTE cadres in Mulliyawalai,” during the annual Heroes Day celebrations. Earlier in the month, the web based news agency reported (November 19, 1998) an unidentified aircraft allegedly belonging to the LTTE had been spotted in the Thondamanaaru region in Jaffna by Sri Lankan Navy officials. The report said it was also believed the Tigers had built an airstrip in the Mullaitivu army base after it was overrun by the LTTE in 1996.

On November 27, 1998 Tamilnet reported Deputy Minister for Defence Anuruddha Ratwatte had scoffed at speculation that the LTTE has acquired aircraft, claiming the reports were part of an LTTE strategy of psychological warfare. Three days later, the news service reported unconfirmed reports of a Tiger helicopter being sighted in the Batticalloa‐Amparai region. The report also said The Sunday Times Military analyst Iqbal Athas had reported military intelligence UAVs had taken images of the LTTE helicopters and Mulativu airstrip. The Sunday Times Situation Report said (November 1, 1998)^[3] “Senior SLAF officials suspect the helicopter on ground to be similar to R44 Astro — a small, light, four-seat, piston-engined civilian helicopter produced by the Robinson Helicopter Company since 1992. Sri Lankan newspapers corroborated discovery of an R44 Astro[1] and also suggested that Australian LTTE contacts had facilitated the purchase of two Australian-made AirBorne microlight aircraft. The Singapore based Asian Tribune e-newspaper claimed (July 28, 2006) the LTTE had acquired two Czech-built Zlin Z‐143's, according to eyewitnesses in Eliranpuram, Pudukudiyiruppu and Meerukandi, who also claim to have frequently seen the Cessna Sky Masters flying overhead for several months. The report also said it was believed the acquisition had been made between April and July of 2006.

Similarly, news of LTTE airstrips in the north had made periodic appearances in the southern Sri Lanka media, including a May 28, 2005 admission by the Norwegian‐led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission of having sighted an airstrip in the Iranamadu area, in northern Sri Lanka. The new air strip was reportedly located near the ruins of another Tiger air strip that was abandoned due to air force bombing in the late 1990s. On March 16, 2007 the Daily Mirror defence analyst Sunil Jayasiri reported military intelligence had revealed the LTTE had constructed yet another airstrip in the South East of Pudukiduiruppu area in the East. “The Pudukiduiruppu airstrip is 1,250 metres long and therefore even a Hercules C-130 aircraft could land with a full load of cargo”, the report said. The Sri Lankan Government alleged that the aircraft have been shipped with foreign aid. ^[4].

[edit] Alleged air attack on Palali

On August 11, 2006, quoting unidentified sources in Jaffna, Tamilnet reported^[5] that “at least one unidentified aircraft” had flown over the Sri Lankan military base at Palali, firing “rockets” at government forces. “Sri Lanka Army (SLA) artillery fire being directed from the base stopped after the attack…,” the report said. When contacted by the Tamilnet to comment on the reported aerial attack the LTTE military spokesman Irasaiah Ilanthirayan alias Marshall was reported to have said “we will use our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in an all out defensive measure to protect our people and homeland.” The report was openly dismissed by the Colombo administration as blatant Tiger propaganda.

Military analyst Iqbal Athas^[6] said “Air Force officials flatly denied the claim,” adding a Bell 212 helicopter was damaged due to artillery fire, but Athas claimed personal communications with military sources had suggests the possibility of an unidentified aircraft.

A few weeks before the alleged aerial attack on Palali, the web based news agency published a series of ‘edited’ images taken during the July 5 Black Tiger celebration, at an undisclosed location in the Tiger held Wanni region. Significantly one of the images showed the tiger leader flanked by a number of Black Tiger ‘suicide’ cadre in the foreground against the backdrop of a somewhat crudely painted fixed wing military aircraft, with symbolically ambiguous flames emanating form the cockpit^[7].

[edit] Katunayake Air Force Base attack

The first LTTE air attack happened in March 2007. Two LTTE Z Lin Z 143 aircraft penetrated the out defences of the Katunayake Air force base north of Colombo on Monday, March 26, 2007, killing three air force officials and wounding 16–17 others. It was believed the attack was targeted at the IAI Kfirs and newly acquired MiG jets which had been bombing targets in LTTE-controlled territory. The base is located near Bandaranaike International Airport, which had been attacked by the Tigers in July 2001.

The LTTE has, for more than a decade, focused on establishing an air wing. News reports from pro-Tiger news media have suggested the Tiger had been successful in establishing an embryonic air wing as its latest weapon in the Eelam War IV. While the attack was largely symbolic, it was the first instance of a rebel organisation possessing aircraft. The LTTE are also the only internationally-recognised terrorist group to field aircraft.

At present the Sri Lankan Air Force's 10 Fighter Ground Attack Squadron operates ten Kfir Multirole Fighters (2 TC2/ 6 C2 / 2 C7). In addition 5 Jet squadron employs four Mig27M Fighter‐Bombers, with three more grounded pending maintenance; and four F‐7 Skybolts. Both the 5 Jet squadron and 10 Fighter Ground Attack Squadron is based at the Katunayake air base and are believed to have been the target of the LTTE’s symbolic attack.

[edit] Palali raid

On April 23, the Air Tigers conducted their second raid. One aircraft flew toward the Palali Air Base near Jaffna, which is the main military complex in the region. Anti‐aircraft fire prevented the aircraft from bombing the runways, but it instead dropped its bombs on a nearby military bunker, killing six soldiers.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Colombo raids

On April 26, Sri Lanka’s air defenses in Colombo fired into the sky following reports that unidentified aircraft had been spotted on radar. No attack was reported.^[8]

However, a few days later on the early morning of April 29, while the nation was watching the Cricket World Cup Final, a Tiger aircraft bombed two fuel storage facilities outside Colombo. Chaos followed and electricity in the capital was shut off for nearly an hour. There were no casualties and minimal damage. The security forces were unable to bring down the aircraft prompting much criticism from the public and opposition political parties.^[9]

Although the government played down the attack Shell's Sri Lankan country director, Hassan Madan told the AFP "There was big damage to our fire-fighting facility and we estimate it will cost us in excess of 75m rupees ($700,000) to put things back" [2] [3].

[edit] Anuradhapura attack

On October 22, 2007, Air Tiger's launched a pre-dawn combined arms assault on a SLAF airbase at Anuradhapura, about 212 kilometers (132 miles) north of the capital, Colombo.

The assault started at around 3:20 am^[10], with LTTE ground forces attacking the airbase and overrunning key positions, including an anti-aircraft position before Air Tiger's ultra lights dropped bombs on government positions.

[edit] Weli Oya Attack

On April 27, 2008, at approximately 1.45am, a least two Air Tiger aircraft dropped three bombs on military installations near the army forwards defense lines in Weli Oya. No damages were caused. ^[11]

Government Defense Authorities claimed that they had sent Air Force interceptors to engage the tiger aircraft, but they were unable to do so as the Tiger aircraft had flown back before they reached the area. [4]

[edit] Summary of capabilities

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (September 2007)

The idea of a rebel army employing an air-force is a novel one, air-combat usually proving both too expensive and too complex for such irregular forces to employ. The LTTE's airforce is not an exception to this rule, but instead avoids the issue. Instead of employing aircraft in direct air-supremacy, ground-attack or supply roles, the Tigers' operations so far have been simple independent raids characteristic of guerrilla warfare. To some extent this is a direct result of limitations imposed by equipment and strategy. Without more heavily armed aircraft, their use against Sri Lankan ground forces (armed with both anti-aircraft guns and SAMs) would be extremely dangerous. Also, without either jet aircraft or AAMs air combat against the SLAF - which has both modern jet aircraft and advanced air-to-air capablities - would be unwise. Therefore, it is unlikely for the moment at least that the Air Tigers will play an integrated role within the LTTE's overall sphere of operations, unlike the Sea Tigers.

It should be also noted that the Air Tigers' aircraft are not, and never have been, machines intended for warfare of any sort, but have instead been pressed into service seemingly more as a propaganda stunt than with expectation of real military capability. The Z-143s are descended from a long line of acrobatic aircraft[5], not fighters, and according to Sri Lankan air force sources, are said to have a range of 630 nautical miles but are capable of carrying an ordinance load of only 240kg[6], restricted to 'dumb' bombs and other assorted unguided gravity weapons. However, it has been suggested that these aircraft could potentially be turned over to the Black Tigers suicide wing of the LTTE for use in kamikaze attacks[7]. These fixed-wing aircraft can operate from several of the Tigers' improvised airstrips, but would be extremely vulnerable to ground fire.

Rotary-wing aircraft have yet to be confirmed by the Tigers themselves. However, the suggested R44 is also strictly a civilian helicopter (although police versions are offered for sale) and is likely to be restricted to passenger and cargo duties. Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters are slow-moving, fragile, complex to maintain and extremely difficult to fly, although they can operate from more remote terrain. Jerry-rigging them with any weapons more complex than a mounted machine-gun would be extremely dangerous due to the complex weight- and aero-dynamics of rotary-wing aircraft, although the SLAF suggests that explosives could be dropped from hovering helicopters [8].