Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force
ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාපති
Incumbent
Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa
since 30 June 2023
 Sri Lanka Air Force
Member ofNational Security Council
Reports toMinistry of Defence
Chief of Defence Staff
ResidenceAir Force House, Colombo
SeatAir Force Headquarters, Kumaran Rutnam road, Colombo 2
AppointerThe President
Term lengthNot fixed
Constituting instrumentAir Force Act, No. 41 of 1949
Formation2 March 1951 (1951-03-02)
as Commander of the Royal Ceylon Air Force
First holderGroup Captain Graham Bladon (as Commander RCyAF)
DeputyChief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Air Force
WebsiteOfficial website

The Commander of the Air Force is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Air Force. The current Commander of the Air Force is Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana. It is a position comparable to that of Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force acts as a deputy commander within the command structure.

All serving air force commanders have been of the rank of air marshal, promoted to the honorary rank of air chief marshal on retirement or on promotion to Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

List of commanders

No. Picture CommanderTook officeLeft officeTime in officeUnitRef.
1
Graham BladonCBE
Bladon, GrahamAir Commodore
Graham Bladon
CBE
(1899–1967)		5 May 195024 October 19588 years, 172 days–[1]
2
John BarkerCB, CBE, DFC
Barker, JohnAir Vice Marshal
John Barker
CB, CBE, DFC
(1910–2004)		24 October 195812 November 19624 years, 19 days–[1]
3
Rohan AmerasekeraDFC & Bar
Amerasekera, RohanAir Vice Marshal
Rohan Amerasekera
DFC & Bar
(1916–1974)		12 November 196231 December 19708 years, 49 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF[1]
4
Deshamanya Paddy Mendis
Mendis, PaddyAir Vice Marshal
Deshamanya Paddy Mendis
(1933–2022)		1 January 19711 November 19765 years, 305 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
No. 5 Squadron SLAF		[1]
5
Harry GoonatilakeUSP
Goonatilake, HarryAir Vice Marshal
Harry Goonatilake
USP
(1929–2008)		1 November 197630 April 19814 years, 180 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF[1]
6
Dick PereraVSV
Perera, DickAir Vice Marshal
Dick Perera
VSV		1 May 198130 April 19853 years, 364 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF[1]
7
Walter FernandoVSV
Fernando, WalterAir Marshal
Walter Fernando
VSV		1 May 198531 July 19905 years, 91 daysNo. 4 Squadron SLAF[1]
8
Terry GunawardenaVSV
Gunawardena, TerryAir Marshal
Terry Gunawardena
VSV		1 August 199016 February 19943 years, 199 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF[1]
9
Oliver RanasingheRWP, VSV, USP
Ranasinghe, OliverAir Marshal
Oliver Ranasinghe
RWP, VSV, USP		17 February 19945 March 19984 years, 16 daysNo. 5 Squadron SLAF[1]
10
Jayalath WeerakkodyRWP, VSV, USP
Weerakkody, JayalathAir Marshal
Jayalath Weerakkody
RWP, VSV, USP		6 March 199815 July 20024 years, 131 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
No. 4 Squadron SLAF		[1]
11
Donald PereraVSV, USP
Perera, DonaldAir Marshal
Donald Perera
VSV, USP		16 July 200211 June 20063 years, 330 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF[1]
12
Roshan GoonetilekeRWP, VSV, USP
Goonetileke, RoshanMarshal of the Air Force
Roshan Goonetileke
RWP, VSV, USP
(born 1956)		11 June 200627 February 20114 years, 261 daysNo. 4 Squadron SLAF[1]
13
Harsha AbeywickramaRWP, RSP, VSV, USP
Abeywickrama, HarshaAir Marshal
Harsha Abeywickrama
RWP, RSP, VSV, USP		27 February 201127 February 20143 years, 0 daysNo. 5 Squadron SLAF[1]
14
Kolitha GunathilakeRWP, RSP, VSV, USP
Gunathilake, KolithaAir Marshal
Kolitha Gunathilake
RWP, RSP, VSV, USP		27 February 201415 June 20151 year, 108 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF[1]
15
Gagan BulathsinghalaRWP, RSP, USP, VSV
Bulathsinghala, GaganAir Marshal
Gagan Bulathsinghala
RWP, RSP, USP, VSV
(born 1961)		15 June 201512 September 20161 year, 89 daysNo. 4 Squadron SLAF[1]
16
Kapila JayampathyWWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP
Jayampathy, KapilaAir Marshal
Kapila Jayampathy
WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP		13 September 201629 May 20192 years, 258 daysNo. 4 Squadron SLAF[1]
17
Sumangala DiasRSP
Dias, SumangalaAir Marshal
Sumangala Dias
RSP		30 May 20192 November 20201 year, 156 daysNo. 6 Squadron SLAF[1]
18
Sudarshana PathiranaWWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP
PATHIRANA, SudarshanaAir Marshal
Sudarshana Pathirana
WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP		2 November 202029 June 20232 years, 239 daysNo. 5 Squadron SLAF
No. 10 Squadron SLAF		–
19
Udeni RajapaksaRWP, VSV, USP
Rajapaksa, UdeniAir Marshal
Udeni Rajapaksa
RWP, VSV, USP		30 June 2023Incumbent182 daysNo. 2 Squadron SLAF
No. 8 Squadron SLAF		–

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Past Commanders". airforce.lk. Sri Lanka Air Force. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
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