India Delivers Dornier Aircraft: The security of India and Sri Lanka is enhanced by mutual understanding, mutual trust and cooperation, the Indian envoy said here on Monday, as India gifted a Dornier aircraft to the Sri Lankan Navy to enhance its maritime surveillance capabilities and strengthen bilateral defense ties was given in
India Delivers Dornier Aircraft To Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was present at the handover ceremony, which took place on the day India celebrated its 76th Independence Day and a day before a high-tech Chinese missile and satellite tracking ship docked at the island country’s Hambantota port.
Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, Vice Chief of the Indian Navy, who is on a two-day visit to the country, handed over the maritime surveillance aircraft to the Sri Lankan Navy at Sri Lanka Air Force Base along with Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay in Colombo. In Katunayake, adjacent to Colombo International Airport.
India Delivers Dornier Maritime Surveillance Aircraft
“The security of #India and #Sri Lanka has been enhanced by mutual understanding, mutual trust and cooperation. The gifting of Dornier 228 is India’s latest contribution,” High Commissioner Baglay said at the handover ceremony.
“Like the fruit of other areas of cooperation with India, Dornier’s gift to @airforcelk is relevant and a step forward to meet its requirements for maritime safety and security. It is India’s strength adding to the strength of its friends An example of that,” he said.
Sources in New Delhi said the aircraft are being provided to Sri Lanka from the inventory of the Indian Navy to help the country meet its urgent security requirement.
The Indian Navy has already provided extensive training to a team of Sri Lankan Navy and Air Force to operate maritime surveillance aircraft.
“Sri Lanka has been a key partner of India and we will continue to expand our bilateral defense cooperation in the coming months and years,” a senior official on condition of anonymity said in New Delhi.
Recalling the arrangement, Sri Lankan officials had earlier stated that during the defense talks between India and Sri Lanka held in New Delhi in January 2018, Sri Lanka sought to acquire two Dornier reconnaissance aircraft from India to enhance the maritime surveillance capabilities of the island. Possibility was sought. Nation.
Sources in New Delhi said India will provide Sri Lanka with two Dornier aircraft, which are being manufactured by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The Dornier aircraft delivered on Monday will return to the Indian Navy once these two HAL-made aircraft are handed over.
The aircraft will be flown and maintained by 15 Sri Lanka Air Force crew, who were specially trained in India for four months.
The team consists of pilots, supervisors, engineering officers and technicians. They will be monitored by a technical team of the Government of India attached to the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF).
The SLAF had said earlier on Monday that the team would conduct a comprehensive monitoring of the aircraft, airframe, aircraft support equipment, ground support equipment and related documents and ascertain the serviceability of all the assets.
A day before India handed over the Dornier aircraft, the Chinese ship ‘Yuan Wang 5’ was handed over to the southern port of Hambantota on Tuesday for replenishment purposes for a week.
The ship was originally scheduled to reach the port on August 11, but was delayed due to lack of permission by the Sri Lankan authorities.
Amidst India’s concerns over this, Sri Lanka had asked China to postpone the visit. On Saturday, Colombo granted the ship access to port from 16 to 22 August.
There were fears in New Delhi that the ship’s tracking systems were attempting to spy on Indian defense installations en route to the Sri Lankan port.
India on Friday rejected China’s “objection” that New Delhi pressured Colombo against visiting the Sri Lankan port by ship, but at the same time said it would take a decision based on its own security concerns.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Sri Lanka, as a sovereign country, takes its own independent decisions and added that India will take its own decision on its security concerns based on the current situation in the region.
Meanwhile, in his Independence Day message, High Commissioner Baglay said that India has been an active participant in catalyzing Sri Lanka’s economic recovery.
He said that Indian investments in Sri Lanka in mutually beneficial sectors like ports, renewable energy, infrastructure etc. will play a vital role in this through employment generation and accelerating economic activities.