Sri Lanka Navy

The Beginning and World War II

In January 1938 the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (CNVF) was created with Commander W.G. Beauchamp as Commanding Officer under ordinance No I of 1937. On 31 August 1939 at the out set of World War II, the CNVF was mobilised for war duties. Three years later, the CNVF was offered to, and accepted by the Royal Navy (RN) as a Volunteer Reserve, the Ceylon Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (CRNVR). It continued under Royal Navy operational and administrative command until March 1946. With the end of the war, it reverted to Ceylon Government control, though yet CRNVR in name. In the 1939–1946 period, the CRNVR carried out several operational duties, mainly at sea. Cutting its teeth on the Port Commission tugs Samson and Goliath, it later manned and operated trawlers and Antarctic whalers converted as minesweepers and fitted out with guns, submarine detection equipment and anti-submarine weaponry. They were HMS Overdale Wyke (the first ship to be purchased by the Government of Ceylon), HMS Okapi, HMS Semla, HMS Sambhur, HMS Hoxa, HMS Balta and HM Tugs Barnet and C 405. In addition the CRNVR manned several Motor Fishing Vessels (MFV), Harbour Defence Motor Launch (HDML) and miscellaneous auxiliary vessels. All were manned exclusively by CRNVR personnel. These ships were meant to sweep and guard the approaches the harbours but were often used on extended missions outside Ceylon waters. In the course of these operations, the ships came under enemy fire, recovered essential information from Imperial Japanese aircraft that were shot down, sailed to Akyab (modern Sittwe) after the Burma front was opened in two FMVs for harbour duties, and were called upon to accept the surrender of the Italian sloop Eritrea and escort her to the Colombo port with a prize crew on board.

Royal Ceylon Navy

Naval Ensign of the Royal Ceylon Navy (1950–1972).

Formation

With Ceylon gaining self rule from the British in 1948, the Parliament of Ceylon passed the Navy Act, No. 34 of 1950 which established the Royal Ceylon Navy (RCyN) on 9 December 1950. The CRNVR served as a source of officers and sailors for the newly established RCyN as one hundred were selected and transferred to the regular naval force. Under the Navy Act, the CRNVR became the volunteer naval force on 9 January 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Volunteer Naval Force (RCVNF). The first warship of the RCyN was commissioned in 1951 as HMCyS Vijaya, an Algerine-class minesweeper, ex-HMS Flying Fish along with other patrol boats and tugs. It was the policy of His Majesties Government of Ceylon to build a strong navy to be the first line of defence of the island country. As such the fleet was expanded with the addition of, HMCyS Parakrama, another Algerine-class minesweeper (ex-HMS Pickle), two Canadian-built "River" class frigates HMCyS Mahasena (ex-HMCS Orkney, Violetta and ex-Israeli ship Mivtach), HMCyS Gajabahu (ex-HMCS Hallowell, ex-Israeli Misnak) and an oceangoing tug (ex-HMS Adept). The RCyN took part in several joint naval exercises and a goodwill missions. Commodore Royce de Mel became the first Ceylonese to head the navy as he was appointed Captain of the RCyN in 1955. In 1959, the navy took over the strategic Royal Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee as the last of the British forces in Ceylon withdrew. In 1960, flexing its blue water capability a naval fleet undertook a deployment to the far east. Its return resulted in scandal as a search for contraband took place. A Commission of Inquiry into the incident resulted in the dismissal of several officers (with commissions withdrawn and others retired) and the compulsory retirement of Rear Admiral de Mel, who was thereafter implicated in an attempt military coup d'état in 1962.^[6][7]

Stagnation

In the aftermath of the attempted coup, the armed forces saw major budget cuts that dramatically halted the expansion it enjoyed in the 1950s. Under N. Q. Dias, the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence changed its defense policy taking steps to prevent a further coup attempts. Joint operations among armed services were stopped, with the army to focused on internal security and the role of the navy was scaled down. As a result, several of its ships were sold off and its size reduced by the stoppage of recruitment of officers cadets and sailors for over seven years, the loss of important bases and barracks and the stoppage of training in the United Kingdom. Two batches of 300 ratings were recruited in 1966 and 1969.^[8][9][10]

Insurrection

As a result, in 1971 the navy was poorly equipped and short of personnel when the 1971 JVP Insurrection broke out. RCyN had only one warship, HMCyS Gajabahu which was not put to sea as its crew were dispatched with other naval personal for shore duty. RCyN initially mounted the defence of ports and thereafter carryout offensive counter insurgency operations against the insurgents. During the insurrection navy suffered its first combat casualties and went on to man detention centres to rehabilitate surrendered insurgents after it was crushed in a few months. Ceylon, however, had to rely on the Indian Navy to established an exclusion zone around the island.^[9][10]

Navy of the Republic

Sri Lanka Navy Ensign.

In 1972 the "Dominion of Ceylon" became the "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka" and the Royal Ceylon Navy became the Sri Lanka Navy. The ensign, along with the Flag Officers' flags, were redesigned. The term "Captain of the Navy", introduced in the Navy Act, was changed to "Commander of the Navy", in keeping with the terminology adopted by the other two services. Finally, "Her Majesty's Ceylon Ships" (HMCyS) became "Sri Lankan Naval Ships" (SLNS).^[11]

The navy began rebuilding its strength in the 1970s with the gift of Shershen-class torpedo boats from the USSR and acquisition of five Type 062-class gunboats from China to carry out effective coastal patrolling and carried out several cruises to regional ports. New bases were established to counter smuggling operations in the coastal areas. Five inshore patrol crafts were ordered from Cheverton, while six coastal patrol craft were built by the Colombo Dockyards.^[11]

Civil war

SLNS Samudura, fast gun boats and troopship JetLiner in the Colombo harbor.

At the begin of the civil war in the 1980s the navy found itself poorly equipped to face the new threats the LTTE created. It found itself engaging in anti-smuggling operations to counter LTTE gun running between India and Sri Lanka. As the larger gun boats proved ineffective against faster small boats used by the LTTE with outboard motors, the navy began deploying small boats with waterjets and inshore patrol boats armed with machine guns to police its waters. The LTTE responded with mounting machine guns and attacking the navy boats. This began an asymmetric war at sea, taking place primarily in the coastal waters among small boats of the navy and the LTTE naval arm the Sea Tigers. The decades long conflict saw the escalations of the size, fire power and speed of the boats with new techniques deployed by both sides. The Sea tigers mastered the art of using sophisticated suicide crafts against naval vessels both small and large. The navy acquired in the late 1980s Israeli Dvora-class fast patrol boats which it designated as Fast Attack Crafts (FAC). The FACs of the Fast Attack Flotilla became the work horse of the navy's offensive and defensive operations against the Sea tigers. In the 1990s and 2000s Super Dvora class boats were added and a locally built Colombo class was introduced in larger numbers. These proved highly successful in limiting the LTTE's use of the seas.^[11]

During the war the navy increased its fleet of larger vessels by introducing two locally built Jayasagara class offshore patrol vessels. The navy lost several ships in the 1990s to sea tiger attacks by suicide crafts such as in the sinking of SLNS Sagarawardena and SLNS Ranaviru and the use of suicide frogmen such as in the bombing of SLNS Sooraya and SLNS Ranasuru. Due to the treat posed by the sea tigers the navy had to undertake convoy duty to escort shipping to the Jaffna peninsula to which all land routes were controlled by the LTTE. In order keep supply lines open to Jaffna, the navy employed several auxiliary ships. It also deployed auxiliary ships to support FACs.^[11]

In the early 1980s a land combat force named Naval Patrolmen was created which at first limited itself to base defence and as its numbers increased took part in offensive operations against the LTTE along with the Sri Lankan Army. An elite naval special forces unit called the Special Boat Squadron was created in the late 1980s based on the British Special Boat Service.^[12]

In order to support ground operations of the army, landing ships and boats were acquired. In early 1990s the SLN carried out injunction with the army its first amphibious operation code named Operation Sea Breeze followed by the larger Operation Balavegaya a year later and on the seas it began an aggressive clamp down on LTTE actives including gunrunning. In 1992, Admiral W.W.E. Clancy Fernando, the commander of the navy was assassinated by a suicide bomb attack by the LTTE.^[11]

The mid-1990s saw a slow expansion of larger fleet assets with addition of newer Type 062-class gun boats and a Haiqing class submarine chaser being added to the fleet to intercept arms shipments destine for the tigers within Sri Lankan territorial waters. In 2000 the Navy started a fleet air arm (FAA) by acquiring a HAL Chetak from India to expand its surveillance capability by operating from newly acquired Offshore Patrol Vessels. During the same time conventional warfare capability was increased by the addition of Sa'ar 4-class missile boats. In 2004, the navy received a Reliance-class cutter from the United States Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program.^[13]

Following the resumptions of hostilities between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE since early 2006, the navy took up an active role in limiting the LTTE's use of the seas. This resulted in several major sea battles curring the course of 2006, 2007 and 2009. Most significant of the events during this time were the interception and sinking of several large cargo ships that were bringing illegal arms shipments to the LTTE in the Indian Ocean in international waters. These naval operations have proven the blue water capability of the Sri Lankan Navy.

During the war the navy, along with the army developed its own weapons development programmes to produce and maintain weapon systems suited for indigenous requirements in collaboration with Colombo Dockyard which included the Jayasagara class, Colombo class and the Ranavijaya class; while the navy designed and developed the Arrow class.

Post war

SLNS Gajabahu (P626), SLNS Sayurala (P623) and SLNS Sindurala (P624) during 2022 Colombo Naval Exercise. SLNS Samudura (P261) also visible in the distance.

With the end of the civil war, the navy has begun reorienting itself for the future defence of the island. This has led to force redeployment, training exercises and transfer of certain duties to the newly formed Sri Lanka Coast Guard. In the post war years the navy has expanded it maritime operations to fisheries control and counter human trafficking. Operations to counter illegal poaching by Tamil Nadu fishermen have led to allegations that personnel from the Sri Lanka Navy have attacked more than twelve fishermen, two of whom have died, in a series of disputes.^[14][15] Australia transferred two Bay-class patrol boats to the Sri Lanka Navy, following its Prime Minister's visit to the island for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November 2013.^[16] The first of these vessels was delivered in April 2014.

Blue water navy

The U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge maneuvers into formation with SLNS Sayura and SLNS Samudura.

Expanding its blue water capability the navy began commissioning larger fleet assets equivalent to Patrol frigates, which it termed as Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessels. In April and August 2018 two 105m long vessels of the Saryu-class were commissioned. Built by Goa Shipyard on order to the Sri Lanka navy, these were the largest purpose built ships for the Sri Lanka Navy.^[17]

In 2017, SLNS Sayurala took part in Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) International Fleet Review 2017 in Thailand. This is the longest foreign tour (21 days) an SLN Ship undertook after the year 1965 with 127 sailors including 18 officers.^[18] This followed in 2018 by SLNS Sagara which sailed to Indonesia to attend the Multilateral Naval Exercise “Komodo” and “International Fleet Review” (IFR) 2018,^[19] while SLNS Samudura and SLNS Suranimala sailed to India to take part in Milan.^[20] The navy participated in Exercise RIMPAC for the first time in 2018, sending a contingent of marines to the international maritime exercise.^[21]

In August 2018, the navy took over a Hamilton-class high endurance cutter which was transferred to the Navy from United States under the EDA program. Commissioned in June 2019 as an Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel, it became the largest combat vessel in the Sri Lankan navy at 3250 tonnes and second former United States cutter in its service.^[22]

In June 2019, the navy took over a Type 053H2G frigate which was transferred to the Navy from China. It will be armed with dual Type 79 100 mm naval guns and two Type 76A dual-37 mm anti-aircraft guns to function as an Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel.^[23][24]

In August 2021, the navy dispatched its Landing Ship, Tank SLNS Shakthi to sail to the Port of Chennai to sealift urgently needed medical grade oxygen needed for the COVID-19 situation in the island.^[25] On 26 October 2021, the navy formally took over the second Hamilton-class high endurance cutter transferred from the United States at the USCG Station Seattle under the EDA program. It is due to reach its home port in 2022, following a seven-month refit in Seattle.^[26]

In March 2022, the Government of Sri Lanka signed several defense agreements with the Government of India which included the establishment of a Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre on an Indian grant as well as the acquisition of Dornier 228 maritime reconnaissance aircraft to the Sri Lanka Air Force to operate with naval personal. A 4,000 ton floating dock constructed by Goa Shipyard was also acquired as part of a grant from India, to facilitate repair and maintenance of larger fleet units based at Trincomalee instead of having to depend dry dock facilities in Colombo.^[27]

Major combat operations

Apart from continued deployments at sea the navy has played a significant role in supporting all major operations carried out by the Army including several amphibious operations.

Current deployments

As of present, most of the Sri Lankan Navy is deployed for domestic defence with the end of combat operations, while foreign deployments are carried out from time to time.

Domestic

Due to the Sri Lankan Civil War the navy has been on a constant mobilized (including reservist) state since the 1980s (except for a brief period from 2002 to 2005). The majority of the naval units both at sea and ground-based are deployed in the North and Eastern provinces of the country, as well as in other parts of the country. The security of all major ports of the country is the responsibility of the navy, due to terrorist activity.

Foreign

• Haiti - Since 2004 navy personnel have been attached to the Sri Lankan contingent of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti.^[28]
• Indian Ocean - In 2007 and 2008 the navy carried out anti-arms smuggling operations in international waters in the Indian Ocean, sinking six rogue merchant ships smuggling arms for the LTTE.

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Commanding officer

Commanding officer

The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as they see fit, within the bounds of military law. In this respect, commanding officers have significant responsibilities, duties, and powers.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Military reserve force

Military reserve force

A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve forces are generally considered part of a permanent standing body of armed forces, and allow a nation to reduce its peacetime military expenditures and maintain a force prepared for war.

Minesweeper

Minesweeper

A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.

Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent formation of modern Japan. It encompassed the Japanese archipelago and several colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories.

Parliament of Ceylon

Parliament of Ceylon

The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon & Dominion of Ceylon established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948. Parliament replaced the State Council of Ceylon.

HMCyS Vijaya

HMCyS Vijaya

HMCyS Vijaya, named in honor of Vijaya, the first king of Sri Lanka, was an Algerine-class minesweeper of the Royal Ceylon Navy, the first warship of that navy. Vijaya had been built as HMS Flying Fish (J370) for the Royal Navy during World War II, but was given to Ceylon by the United Kingdom upon the 1951 formation of Ceylon's navy.

Algerine-class minesweeper

Algerine-class minesweeper

The Algerine-class minesweeper was a large group of minesweepers built for the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. 110 ships of the class were launched between 1942 and 1944.

Patrol boat

Patrol boat

A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they generally range in size. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, police, or customs, and may be intended for marine, estuarine, or river environments.

Island country

Island country

An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically more stable countries than many continental states but are vulnerable to conquest by naval superpowers.

HMS Pickle (J293)

HMS Pickle (J293)

HMCyS Parakrama, was a turbine-powered Algerine-class minesweeper of the Royal Ceylon Navy, originally built as HMS Pickle (J293) for the Royal Navy during World War II, and transferred to Ceylon by the United Kingdom in 1958. She was scrapped in 1964.

Royce de Mel

Royce de Mel

Rear Admiral Gerard Royce Maxwell De Mel, OBE was a Ceylonese admiral. He was the Captain of the Royal Ceylon Navy from 1955 to 1961, the first Ceylonese to hold the post. He was accused and convicted in the 1962 Ceylonese coup d'état attempt.

Command structure of the Sri Lanka Navy.

The professional head of the navy is the Commander of the Navy (C of N) who reports directly to the Minister of Defence. The Commander of the Navy exercises operational and administrative control of the Navy from Naval Headquarters in SLNS Parakrama, Colombo. He is assisted by the Chief of Staff (C of S); who along with Directors General and Directors comprise the Board of Management (BOM) and Board of Directors (BOD) of the Sri Lanka Navy.

Leadership

Board of Management

The following posts make up the Board of Management:^[29]

• Director General Operations
• Director General Health Services
• Director General Logistics
• Commandant Volunteer Naval Force
• Director General Budget & Finance
• Director General Personnel
• Director General Administration
• Director General Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Director General Training
• Director General Engineering
• Director General Civil Engineering
• Director General Services
• Naval Assistant to The Commander of The Navy

Commands

The Naval Areas of Operations. Note that the Southern and Eastern areas overlap (stripes).

The Navy has seven commands known as Naval Area Commands, each under the control of a flag officer for effective command and administrative control. This is in order to efficiently maintain all ships, crafts and vehicles; and to ensure the operational readiness of commands and units each area shall have its own harbour/ base, repair and refitting facilities, signal centres, logistic, civil engineering and medical facilities.

Seven Naval Area Commands (see image to the right)

• Northern Naval Area (NNA)
• North Central Naval Area (NCNA)
• North Western Naval Area (NWNA)
• Western Naval Area (WNA)
• Southern Naval Area (SNA)
• Eastern Naval Area (ENA)
• South Eastern Naval Area (SENA)

Units

• 3rd Fast Gun Boats Squadron (3 FGS)
• 4th Fast Attack Flotilla (4 FAF)
• 7th Surveillance Command Squadron
• Special Boat Squadron
• Rapid Action Boat Squadron
• Sri Lanka Marine Corps
• Naval Boat Building Yard

Branches

Members of the Sri Lanka Navy Band perform at Mattur Public Grounds during a community relations event in 2018.

Sri Lanka Navy consists following branches to which personnel are attached to;

• Executive Branch
  • Navigation and Direction
  • Communications
  • Gunnery
  • Missiles
  • Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)
  • Diving
  • Hydrography
• Engineering Branch
• Medical Branch
• Logistics Branch
• Electrical & Electronics Engineering Branch
• Naval Patrolman Branch
• Information Technology Branch
• Musical Branch
• Legal Branch
• Provost Branch

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Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 in the Municipality. It is the financial centre of the island and a tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is itself within the urban/suburban area of Colombo. It is also the administrative capital of the Western Province and the district capital of Colombo District. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings and monuments.

Commander of the Navy (Sri Lanka)

Commander of the Navy (Sri Lanka)

The Commander of the Navy is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Navy. The current Commander of the Navy is Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera. It is a position equivalent to that of First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy or Chief of Naval Operations in the United States Navy.

Priyantha Perera (naval officer)

Priyantha Perera (naval officer)

Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera, RSP and Bar, USP is a Sri Lankan senior naval officer. He is the incumbent Commander of the Navy of the Sri Lanka Navy.

Anura Ekanayake

Anura Ekanayake

Rear Admiral Anura Ekanayake RSP, USP, psc, MMaritimePol, is a retired Sri Lankan Naval officer. He served as Deputy chief of staff at Sri Lanka Navy. Prior to that, he served as Director General of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG).

Command (military formation)

Command (military formation)

A command in military terminology is an organisational unit for which a military commander is responsible. Commands, sometimes called units or formations, form the building blocks of a military. A commander is normally specifically appointed to the role in order to provide a legal framework for the authority bestowed. Naval and military officers have legal authority by virtue of their officer's commission, but the specific responsibilities and privileges of command are derived from the publication of appointment.

Flag officer

Flag officer

A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command.

Fast Attack Flotilla

Fast Attack Flotilla

The 4th Fast Attack Flotilla is a force element flotilla of the Sri Lanka Navy. The flotilla's mission is to provide heavily armed and fast patrol boat capability to counter sea tiger movements along the coast and to protect naval and civilian shipping from sea tiger suicide crafts.

Rapid Action Boat Squadron

Rapid Action Boat Squadron

The Rapid Action Boat Squadron (RABS)(In Sinhalese: "ක්ෂණික ක්‍රියාකාරී යාත්‍රා බලඝණය" Ksanika Vihidum Yathra Balaghanaya) is a force element squadron of the Sri Lanka Navy that provides expertise in small boat operations in support of littoral operations, amphibious and riverine activities. The unit is equipped with Inshore Patrol Crafts (IPC)s and Arrow speed boats that provide high degree of firepower along with high speed and maneuverability.

Naval Boat Building Yard (Sri Lanka)

Naval Boat Building Yard (Sri Lanka)

Naval Boat Building Yard (NBBY) is a shipyard of the Sri Lanka Navy situated in Welisara that produce small and specialist watercraft for the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, state institutions and civilians.

Navigation

Navigation

Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, marine navigation, aeronautic navigation, and space navigation.

Naval artillery

Naval artillery

Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for more specialized roles in surface warfare such as naval gunfire support (NGFS) and anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) engagements. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes self-propelled projectiles such as torpedoes, rockets, and missiles and those simply dropped overboard such as depth charges and naval mines.

Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typically carried out to protect friendly shipping and coastal facilities from submarine attacks and to overcome blockades.

Sri Lankan Navy divers and their US counterparts during a joint diving exercise in the Apra Harbor off the coast of Guam

At the formation of the Royal Ceylon Navy in 1950, it looked to the Royal Navy to its training in the formational years. Navel rating training was initiated locally with Royal Navy instructors at Royal Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee while officer cadets and specialist training took place in the United Kingdom. Initial batches of officer cadets were sent to Britannia Royal Naval College, along with specialized training at trade schools of the Royal Navy, while senior officers were sent to the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and to the Royal College of Defence Studies. Following the resuspension of recruitment following the suspension from 1962 to 1967, the Naval and Maritime Academy was established for basic officer training. With the rapid expansion of the Sri Lankan armed forces in the 1980s and 1990s saw the establishment of local specialist and trade schools in the navy, along with staff colleges and a defence university. At present the Director General Training directs all naval training establishments.

All pre-commissioning training for officers are carried out at the Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA) at the SLN Dockyard in Trincomalee and short/specialised officer training is conducted at the SLNS Gemunu, Welisara. This training includes theoretical aspects covered at the training institute followed by a practical exposure on board the Sri Lanka Navy fleet at sea. The Naval & Maritime Academy also has specialist schools for training areas such as ASW, diving, medicine, combat, NBCD and sniper. It also conducts the Sub Lieutenant Technical Course for newly commissioned officers, the Junior Naval Staff Course for staff officers and the Long Logistics Management Course (LLMC) for logistics officers of the navy. The General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) formed in 1981 and situated in Ratmalana, fourteen kilometers south of Colombo, is Sri Lanka's only university specialising in defence studies. Apart from postgraduate defence studies each year, approximately fifty cadets from all three services are admitted to the university (aged 18–22) to participate in a three-year programme of under graduate studies.^[30]

Senior officers of the ranks of Lieutenant Commander and Commander follow the Command and Staff Course at the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) at Batalanda, Makola which allows officers to gain a Masters Of Science (Defence Studies) degree from the KDU. Senior officers destined for flag rank attend the prestigious National Defence College (NDC) in Colombo which is the highest level of training leading to a Master of Philosophy from the KDU. The navy continuous to send its senior officers for overseas training.

Basic training for new recruits (approximately six months) are conducted at Advanced Naval Training Centre, SLNS 'Nipuna'; Naval Institute of Technology, SLNS 'Thakshila', Welisara; and at Naval Recruit Training Centres at several shore establishments. This basic training will be followed by on-the-job training on-board fleet units and at shore establishments. Combat Training School at SLNS 'Pandukabaya' conducts combat training for Naval Patrolmen.

Additional training is carried out in UK, India, Pakistan, Australia.

Main training establishments,

• Naval & Maritime Academy - SLN Dockyard
• Advanced Naval Training Centre - SLNS Nipuna
• Naval Artificer Training Institute - SLNS Thakshila
• Naval Recruit Training Centre - SLNS Shiksha
• Naval Recruit Training Centre/Combat Training School - SLNS Pandukabaya

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Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwater to the north and the Orote Peninsula in the south. Naval Base Guam and the Port of Guam are the two major users of the harbor. It is also a popular recreation area for boaters, surfers, scuba divers, and other recreationalists.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Britannia Royal Naval College

Britannia Royal Naval College

Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, England. Royal Naval officer training has taken place in Dartmouth since 1863. The buildings of the current campus were completed in 1905. Earlier students lived in two wooden hulks moored in the River Dart. Since 1998, BRNC has been the sole centre for Royal Naval officer training.

Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Royal Naval College, Greenwich

The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equivalent in the British Army was the Staff College, Camberley, and the equivalent in the Royal Air Force was the RAF Staff College, Bracknell.

Royal College of Defence Studies

Royal College of Defence Studies

The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level, to prepare them for the top posts in their respective services. It forms part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, and is its most senior and prestigious component. In addition, there are many overseas attendees, from countries who are close allies of the United Kingdom.

Naval and Maritime Academy

Naval and Maritime Academy

Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA), Trincomalee, is the naval academy of the Sri Lanka Navy, and is located within SLN Dockyard, Trincomalee. It received university status in 2001 under the leadership of Commodore SR Samaratunga.

Trincomalee

Trincomalee

Trincomalee, also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast of the island overlooking the Trincomalee Harbour, 237 kilometres (147 mi) north-east of Colombo, 182 kilometres (113 mi) south-east of Jaffna and 111 kilometres (69 mi) miles north of Batticaloa, Trincomalee has been one of the main centres of Sri Lankan Tamil language speaking culture on the island for over two millennia. With a population of 99,135, the city is built on a peninsula of the same name, which divides its inner and outer harbours. People from Trincomalee are known as Trincomalians and the local authority is Trincomalee Urban Council. Trincomalee city is home to the famous Koneswaram temple from where it developed and earned its historic Tamil name Thirukonamalai. The town is home to other historical monuments such as the Bhadrakali Amman Temple, Trincomalee, the Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall and, opened in 1897, the Trincomalee Hindu College. Trincomalee is also the site of the Trincomalee railway station and an ancient ferry service to Jaffna and the south side of the harbour at Muttur.

Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare

Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typically carried out to protect friendly shipping and coastal facilities from submarine attacks and to overcome blockades.

Medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease, typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others.

CBRN defense

CBRN defense

Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence or NBC protection are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare hazards may be present. CBRN defence consists of CBRN passive protection, contamination avoidance, and weapons of mass destruction mitigation.

Logistics officer

Logistics officer

A logistics officer is a member of an armed force or coast guard responsible for overseeing the support of an army, air force, marine corps, navy or coast guard fleet, both at home and abroad. Logistics officers can be stationary on military bases or deployed as an active part of a field army, air wing, naval force or coast guard fleet. The responsibilities of Logistics Officers vary, depending on where they are deployed and what tasks they are assigned. In addition, different countries have different roles for Logistics Officers. The main role of these officers remains the same regardless of where they are stationed; to ensure that the force is supplied with enough food, water, fuel, ammunition and other goods and services to complete the task at hand.

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) located at Kandawala, Ratmalana, Colombo, is a university which is administered by the Ministry of Defence.

The Sri Lankan Naval fleet consists of above 250 combat, support ships and inshore patrol craft, with most originating from the United States, China, India, Israel. While Naval Boat Building Yard, Colombo Dockyard provide locally.^[31]

Ships

Type	Vessels	Image
Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessels equivalent to traditional patrol frigates	SLNS Gajabahu[32] SLNS Sayurala[33][34] SLNS Sindurala[35][36] SLNS Parakramabahu[37][38] SLNS Vijayabahu[26]
Offshore Patrol Vessels Deployed on the high seas to carry out surveillance and interception of illegal arms smuggling and to monitor naval activity within the EEZ.	SLNS Sayura SLNS Samudura SLNS Sagara
Fast Missile Vessels	added to the SLN in 2001 when two Israeli Saar 4 class missile boats were acquired. These vessels, which are referred to as the Nandimithra class and are equipped with Gabriel II anti-ship missiles, increased the SLN's conventional warfare capability and provide a multi-role platform for different operations undertaken by the navy.[39]
Fast Gun Boats (FGB)	carry out a multi-role missions from coastal patrols to shore bombardment in support of amphibious operations. FGBs consist of ships from the Chinese Lushun class, Haizhui class and Shanghai II class.[40][41]	-
Patrol Boats	Bay-class patrol boats are the latest type of craft to be added to the fleet. They were given to Sri Lanka by the Australian government in 2013, to help the Sri Lanka Navy's efforts to reduce smuggling and other illegal trafficking. The first of these was delivered in April 2014. They were commissioned in July 2014 as SLNS Rathnadeepa and SLNS Mihikatha.
Fast Attack Craft	They are primarily deployed in offensive operations for the denial of sea, they were also used for defensive operations to prevent Sea Tiger suicide craft from attacking both naval and civilian ships by operating as escorts. There are several classes of FACs in SL Navy. Super Dvora Mk III Super Dvora Mk II Dvora - Mk I Shaldag class Colombo class
Inshore Patrol Craft	Inshore Patrol Craft are small vessels (14 meters long) which are capable of operating inshore as well as for beaching. They are capable of speeds in excess of 30 knots and are used for small boat operations, harbour defence and amphibious operations.[31]		-
Littoral Attack Craft	Littoral Warfare Craft are small (7 meters long) and highly manoeuvrable Arrow class attack speedboats. They also have a high degree of firepower for vessels their size. Introduced in 2006, these boats are manufactured by the SLN's own boatyard and used by the elite Special Boat Squadron (SBS) and the Rapid Action Boat Squadron (RABS) for small boat operations.	-
Amphibious Warfare Vessels	The SLN has several vessels to support amphibious operations it carries out. These include Yuhai class Tank landing ship SLNS Shathi; Ranavijaya class utility landing crafts (Locally built); Yunnan class mechanized landing crafts and an ABS M-10 Utility craft air cushion.[40]
Auxiliary Vessels	The Navy also has several auxiliary vessels such as fast personnel carriers and replenishment ships. Fast personnel carriers are catamarans which were used for both troop and civilian transport, running the gauntlet of LTTE suicide craft. SLNs fleet of non-commissioned underway replenishment ships have been used recently for replenishment at sea in international waters.

Main Naval Weapons Systems

• Gabriel - Anti-ship missile
• Oto Melara 76 mm naval artillery
• PJ33A 100 mm dual gun naval artillery
• Typhoon - Naval Optronic Stabilized Weapon Platforms
• M242 Bushmaster - 25 mm (25x137mm) chain-fed autocannon
• Naval variant of a locally developed guided missile and 40-barrel and 20-barrel MRLS to be soon installed on naval vessels^[42][43]

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List of historic ships of the Sri Lanka Navy

List of historic ships of the Sri Lanka Navy

The following is an alphabetical list of historic ships of the Sri Lanka Navy:

Naval fleet

Naval fleet

A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships – the largest formation in any navy – controlled by one leader. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land.

Naval Boat Building Yard (Sri Lanka)

Naval Boat Building Yard (Sri Lanka)

Naval Boat Building Yard (NBBY) is a shipyard of the Sri Lanka Navy situated in Welisara that produce small and specialist watercraft for the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, state institutions and civilians.

Colombo Dockyard

Colombo Dockyard

Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) is a ship building company in Sri Lanka and is based in Colombo. It has built both military and civilian vessels for both local and overseas clients.

SLNS Gajabahu (P626)

SLNS Gajabahu (P626)

SLNS Gajabahu (P626) is an Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel of the Sri Lanka Navy. The ship is the second ship named after King Gajabahu I, the warrior king of the medieval Sri Lankan Kingdom of Anuradhapura.

SLNS Sayurala (2016)

SLNS Sayurala (2016)

SLNS Sayurala pennant number P623 is the flagship and an advanced offshore patrol vessel (AOPV) of the Sri Lanka Navy. It is the sister ship of SLNS Sindurala.

SLNS Parakramabahu (P625)

SLNS Parakramabahu (P625)

SLNS Parakramabahu (P625) is a Type 053H2G class frigate of the Sri Lanka Navy. The ship is the second ship named after King Parakramabahu I, the warrior king of the medieval Sri Lankan Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. Gifted by the People's Liberation Army Navy, she was commissioned in August 2019, classed as an Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel.

SLNS Sagara

SLNS Sagara

SLNS Sagara (Sagara meaning: Sea) is an Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) of the Sri Lanka Navy. It was formerly the ICGS Varaha (41), a Vikram-class offshore patrol vessel of the Indian Coast Guard, leased to Sri Lanka in 2006 and was handed over to the Sri Lanka Navy in 2015.

Missile boat

Missile boat

A missile boat or missile cutter is a small, fast warship armed with anti-ship missiles. Being smaller than other warships such as destroyers and frigates, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming a navy at lower cost. They are similar in concept to the torpedo boats of World War II; in fact, the first missile boats were modified torpedo boats with the torpedo tubes replaced by missile tubes.

Sri Lanka often conducts and participate naval exercises with other friendly forces and countries designed to increase naval cooperation and also to strengthen cooperative security relationship.

SLNS Sindurala and INS Sumedha during SLINEX 2019

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Sri Lanka Coast Guard

Sri Lanka Coast Guard

The Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) is a Sri Lankan non-ministerial government department tasked with coast guard duties within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka. It comes under the purview of the Ministry of Defence and its members are all naval personnel. The current Director General of the SLCG is Rear Admiral Pujitha Vithana

Sri Lanka Air Force

Sri Lanka Air Force

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is the air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major role throughout the Sri Lankan Civil War. The SLAF operates more than 160 aircraft and has a projected trained strength of 30,000 airmen and 2000 officers, who are from both regular and reserve service.

SLINEX

SLINEX

SLINEX are a series of naval exercises between the Indian Navy and the Sri Lanka Navy. The first SLINEX exercise took place in 2005. The eighth edition took place in 2020.

Indian Navy

Indian Navy

The Indian Navy (IN) is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates significantly in the Persian Gulf Region, the Horn of Africa, the Strait of Malacca, and routinely conducts anti-piracy operations and partners with other navies in the region. It also conducts routine two to three month-long deployments in the South and East China seas as well as the western Mediterranean sea simultaneously.

Sri Lankan Marines in an amphibious capabilities demonstration during the Sri Lanka Marine Corps Boot Camp graduation at Sri Lankan Naval Station Barana in Mullikulum, Sri Lanka, Feb. 27, 2017.

In 2016, the Sri Lanka Navy formed its first battalion of Marines specializing in amphibious warfare. The unit started training under the assistance of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit of the United States Marine Corps in November 2016 and received further training from the Commando Regiment of Sri Lanka Army.^{[47][48][49][50]}

The first group consisting of 164 Marines, consisting of 6 officers and 158 sailors, passed out on 27 February 2017 from Naval Base SLNS Barana in Mullikulam in a ceremony attended by the President Maithripala Sirisena, and the Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne alongside the tri-force Commanders and other senior officers. On July 29, 2017, Vice Admiral Wijegunarathna opened the new Marine Headquarters, SLNS Vidura in Sampoor, Trincomalee.^[51][52]

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Sri Lanka Marine Corps

Sri Lanka Marine Corps

Sri Lanka Marine Corps was formed in 2016 under the assistance of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit of the United States Marine Corps in November 2016 and received further training from the Commando Regiment of Sri Lanka Army.

Battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,000 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies. In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations.

Marines

Marines

Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship, the boarding of vessels during combat or capture of prize ships, and providing manpower for raiding ashore in support of the naval objectives. In most countries, the marines are an integral part of that state's navy.

Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare

Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted using ship's boats as the primary method of delivering troops to shore. Since the Gallipoli Campaign, specialised watercraft were increasingly designed for landing troops, material and vehicles, including by landing craft and for insertion of commandos, by fast patrol boats, zodiacs and from mini-submersibles. The term amphibious first emerged in the United Kingdom and the United States during the 1930s with introduction of vehicles such as Vickers-Carden-Loyd Light Amphibious Tank or the Landing Vehicle Tracked.

11th Marine Expeditionary Unit

11th Marine Expeditionary Unit

The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 personnel. The MEU consists of a command element, a reinforced infantry battalion, a composite helicopter squadron and a logistics combat element. The 11th MEU is currently based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California with headquarters in Camp Del Mar.

United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combined arms, implementing its own infantry, artillery, aerial, and special operations forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States.

Sri Lanka Army

Sri Lanka Army

The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972. In 2010, the Army had approximately 200,000 regular personnel, between 20,000 and 40,000 reserve (volunteer) personnel and 18,000 National Guardsmen and comprises 13 divisions, one air-mobile brigade, one commando brigade, one special forces brigade, one independent armored brigade, three mechanized infantry brigades and over 40 infantry brigades.

Maithripala Sirisena

Maithripala Sirisena

Maithripala Yapa Sirisena is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh President of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province of the country and does not belong to the traditional Sri Lankan political elite. He is currently a member of parliament from Polonnaruwa.

Ravindra Wijegunaratne

Ravindra Wijegunaratne

Admiral Ravindra Chandrasiri Wijegunaratne, WV, RWP & Bar, RSP, VSV, USP, NI(M), ndc, psn, is a retired Sri Lankan naval officer, and former Chief of Defence Staff of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. He has also served as the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy, Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy, the Director General of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard and held, at various times, four of the seven Naval Commands of the SLN. Wijegunaratne has also served as Director Naval Operations, and is a recipient of the Weerodara Vibhushanaya.

Trincomalee District

Trincomalee District

Trincomalee District is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the city of Trincomalee.

Parama Weera Vibhushanaya recipients

The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya is the highest award for valour awarded in the Sri Lankan armed forces. Navy recipients include;

• Lieutenant Commander Jude Lakmal Wijethunge  †
• Chief Petty Officer K. G. Shantha  †

Notable fallen members

Over 23,790 Sri Lankan armed forces personnel were killed since the start of the civil war in 1981 to its end in 2009, this includes 2 admirals killed in active duty or assassinated.^[53] 659 service personnel were killed due to the second JVP insurrection from 1987 to 1990. 53 service personnel were killed and 323 were wounded in the first JVP insurrection from 1971 to 1972.^[54] Notable fallen members includes;

• Admiral W.W.E. Clancy Fernando  † - Commander of the Navy
• Rear admiral Mohan Jayamaha  † - Commander, Northern Naval Area^[55]

Women in the Sri Lanka Navy

Women in the Sri Lanka Navy were taken by the help of Women's Royal Naval Service (Britain); however, for women in the Sri Lanka Navy, there is no separate branch or department. Women can join both as officers and sailors.

Today women are recruited to both the regular and volunteer forces. Although at first limited to the medical branch, currently females are able to join any branch of the navy. In 2007, the navy appointed its first-ever female Commodore, Surgeon Commodore Indranee Y. Amarasinghe.^[56]

Ranks

The following tables present the military ranks and insignia of the Sri Lanka Navy. These ranks generally correspond with those of Western or Commonwealth Nations militaries, and reflect those of the British warrant officer, non-commissioned officer and enlisted ranks and the Commissioned officer ranks. Sri Lanka does have an Admiral rank, but it is usually only awarded to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) or as an honorary rank.

Officers

Rank group	General/flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers								Officer cadet
Sri Lanka Navy[57] v t e
	Admiral of the fleet		Admiral		Vice admiral		Rear admiral		Commodore		Captain		Commander		Lieutenant commander		Lieutenant		Sub-lieutenant			Acting Sub-lieutenant			Midshipman

Other ranks

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Sri Lanka Navy[57] v t e																											No insignia								No insignia
	Master chief petty officer						Fleet chief petty officer		Chief petty officer		Petty officer												Leading seaman				Able seaman								Seaman recruit

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Parama Weera Vibhushanaya

Parama Weera Vibhushanaya

The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV) is Sri Lanka's highest military decoration, awarded for acts of exceptional valour in wartime. Parama Weera Vibhushanaya translates as the ""Decoration of Supreme Heroism", and the award is granted for "individual acts of gallantry and conspicuous bravery of the most exceptional order in the face of the enemy". Corporal Gamini Kularatne, was the first recipient. As of January 2021, the medal has been awarded 31 times, of which all were posthumous and arose from actions in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Of the 31 awardees, 28 have been from the Sri Lanka Army, two have been from the Sri Lanka Navy and one has been from the Sri Lanka Air Force.

Killed in action

Killed in action

Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA did not need to have fired their weapons, but only to have been killed due to hostile attack. KIAs include those killed by friendly fire in the midst of combat, but not from incidents such as accidental vehicle crashes, murder or other non-hostile events or terrorism. KIA can be applied both to front-line combat troops and to naval, air and support troops.

K. G. Shantha

K. G. Shantha

K. G. Shantha was a senior non-commissioned officer in the Sri Lanka Navy. He was killed in a sea battle against the Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in the seas of northern Sri Lanka. He posthumously received the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the country's highest award for gallantry, and is the second recipient of the medal from the navy.

Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, or fleet admiral.

Clancy Fernando

Clancy Fernando

Admiral Wannakuwatta Waduge Erwin Clancy Fernando VSV, USP, MSc, ndc, psc, MNI, SLN was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy from 1 November 1991 to 16 November 1992. He was assassinated by the LTTE in 1992, as the most senior officer in the Sri Lankan military to be killed in the line of duty.

Rear admiral (Sri Lanka)

Rear admiral (Sri Lanka)

Rear admiral is a two-star rank of the Sri Lankan Navy.

Mohan Jayamaha

Mohan Jayamaha

Rear admiral Conan Anthony Mohan Jayamaha, RWP, VSV, USP, psc, SLN was a Sri Lankan Admiral. He was Commander, Northern Naval Area of the Sri Lanka Navy when he was killed from wounds sustained in a land mine explosion that killed 7 other senior military officers including Lieutenant General Denzil Kobbekaduwa in island of Kayts while making preparations for Operation Final Countdown the proposed invasion of the Jaffna Peninsula.

Women's Royal Naval Service

Women's Royal Naval Service

The Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the beginning of the Second World War, remaining active until integrated into the Royal Navy in 1993. WRNS included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics.

Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force

Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force

The Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force (SLVNF) is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the Sri Lanka Navy. The SLVNF, which consists of the volunteer force and the volunteer reserve is separate from the Regular Naval Force, which consists of the Regular Force consisting of professional naval officers and sailors, and its Regular Reserve, which comprises personal who have a mobilization obligation following their service in the regular force.

Commodore (rank)

Commodore (rank)

Commodore is a senior naval rank used in many navies which is equivalent to brigadier and air commodore. It is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. It is either regarded as the most junior of the flag officers rank or may not hold the jurisdiction of a flag officer at all depending on the officer's appointment. Non-English-speaking nations commonly use the rank of flotilla admiral, counter admiral, or senior captain as an equivalent, although counter admiral may also correspond to rear admiral lower half abbreviated as RDML.

The Sri Lanka Navy set a medium-term fleet expansion goal targeting ten new vessels in its 'Sri Lanka Navy 2025' plan as part of its expansion of blue water operations.^[58]

According to the Maritime Doctrine of Sri Lanka (MDSL) published in 2020, the establishment of Naval Aviation consisting of helicopters and drones have been proposed and initial steps have been taken.^[59]

Naval variant of a locally developed guided missile and 40-barrel and 20-barrel MRLS to be soon installed on naval vessels.^[60][61]