ECONOMYNEXT \u2013 Sri Lanka plans to procure four advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Israel for 4,261 million rupees to strengthen maritime surveillance and disaster response capabilities, Deputy Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekera said.<\/p>\n
Speaking in parliament, Jayasekera said the emergency procurement will be executed on a government-to-government basis through BlueBird Aero Systems, in which Israel Aerospace Industries holds an equity stake.<\/p>\n
The aircraft will monitor Sri Lanka\u2019s Exclusive Economic Zone \u2014 an expanse of 517,000 square kilometres that is 27 times larger than the country\u2019s landmass. <\/p>\n
The drones will track suspicious vessels, help locate missing fishermen, and assist during natural disasters such as floods and cyclones.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sri Lanka Air Force is responsible for monitoring a large maritime area, and continuous surveillance using conventional aircraft is very costly. Therefore, we are proposing to acquire these unmanned aerial systems,\u201d Jayasekera said.<\/p>\n
The fleet will include two ThunderB aircraft with an endurance of up to 14 hours and others capable of flying up to 20 hours, supporting vertical or short take-offs with limited land. <\/p>\n
The deal also includes operational training and three years of maintenance support. Under earlier talks, the government expected to receive only two units, but the revised arrangement provides four.<\/p>\n
Jayasekera noted that the purchase will require no additional state funds, as the cost is being met by diverting money previously allocated for Air Force helicopter maintenance under Financial Regulation 66.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin the Air Force, the funds saved from maintenance costs previously allocated for helicopters will be utilized for this purpose. Therefore, there is no additional cost being requested or newly allocated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Once parliamentary approval is granted, the agreement will be reviewed by the Attorney General\u2019s Department and submitted to the Cabinet, with the government targeting to sign the deal in December. (Colombo\/Nov05\/2026)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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