Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana said that the SLAF earned US$ 6 million in 2021 by deploying an aviation unit and troops for UN missions overseas.
He said all foreign exchange earnings had been handed over to the Treasury and the total amount handed over to the Treasury by the SLAF since 2014 was US$110 million. Commander Pathirana made this disclosure at the media briefing to announce SLAF’s 71st anniversary celebrations falling on March 2, 2022.
Air Marshal Pathirana said that in addition to the foreign exchange earned, the SLAF was saving the nation millions of dollars by carrying out maintenance of its fleet including the complete overhaul of Chinese manufactured aircraft and heavy maintenance of American manufactured aircrafts locally.
He reiterated that as foreign exchange was scarce now, the SLAF was deploying its aircraft sparsely and only for the most essential missions.
