Air Force inducts Dornier to its fleet

COLOMBO (News 1st); The first ever Indian Naval Dornier was inducted into the SLAF Fleet in a ceremonial procession under the supervision by Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana at SLAF Base Katunayake as a way forward of the comradeship with neighboring India. 

The newly inducted Indian Naval Dornier (INDO – 228) is a Short Take Off and Landing (STOL), multirole light transport aircraft with a turboprop twin-engine, produced since 1981. Dornier GmbH of Germany being the Original Equipment Manufacturer built 245 aircraft from 1981 through 1998. 

Subsequently, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has been engaged in the production of Dornier aircraft, under the license of Dornier GmbH since 1993. The aircraft will be executed its tour of duty only by the qualified Dornier crew of SLAF and maintained by qualified technicians of SLAF under the supervision of the Indian technical team comprising of engineering officers and technicians.

The SLAF intends to effectively employ the Dornier aircraft specifically to conduct Maritime and Coastal Surveillance Operations within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Search and Rescue Operations (SAR), Casualty Evacuation (CASEVAC), and Maritime Pollution Monitoring and Control within Sri Lankan Search and Rescue Region (SRR) to attain SLAF ultimate vision of “Ensuring the National Security through Effective Employment of Airpower” within Sri Lankan Airspace.