THE FUTURE - ITS ALL ABOUT BLUE WATER

THE days of skirmishing in green or brown water is over for the SLN. The world's most operational naval force is looking to its future role.

Having struggled with its baby teeth for a while, the SLN finally grew its fangs and claws. And then went after the Sea-Tigers in a series of spectacular actions whose scale, intensity and tactical brilliance left other much hyped big budget navies stunned, breathless and wanting to know how our lads did it. The world now has to deal with the realization that the Sri Lankans have finally grown up and are big enough to get a real job.

Sri Lanka now has to reclaim our territorial position in the sea lanes of the fastest growing part of the world. While Sri Lanka was combating her internal threats, our maritime borders have begun to shrink as others inched into some of those areas. Now it becomes the responsibility of the Navy primarily to redefine and defend our territory far out to the seas.

Our most successful naval action so far has been accomplished primarily with the use of Offshore Patrol Craft [OPVs] of Indian and US origin. Close in shore combat patrolling is done mainly by a combination of foreign and locally built fast attack craft.

The Sri Lankan Navy today formally commisions the latest additions to her fleet, SLNS Sayurala, a 1160 Ton OPV of Indian origin. Formally named the ICGS Vigraha, she was a Vikram class ship commisioned in 1990 and has been in active duty with the SLN since August 2008. Here are some specifics of this ship.

Length: 74 meters Beam : 11.4 meters Draught: 3.2 Meters
Engines: 2 Diesels of 6200 horse power Range : 8500 nautical miles at 16 knots.

The ship is designed to carry either one Sea King Mk 42B or one HAL Chetak helicopter in addition to a solid hulled fast craft and two inflatables.

While in service with the Indian Navy it was armed with a 30mm automatic cannon and a number of 7.62 machine guns. The Sri Lankan Navy can be expected to come up with their own armaments mix based on changing threat perceptions.

EPILOGUE

THE END finally arrived for the sea-tigers as the last of them were deployed in one desperate suicidal attempt to rescue the cornered LTTE leadership including the leader of the much feared tamil tiger navy.

The sea-tiger attacking force was allowed to land and then were completely wiped out by well entrenched Sri Lankan Defence forces, who used the distraction to assist the remaining tamil civillians escape from the human shield held in the areas surrounding the bunkers occupied by the LTTE leadership. At least 70 sea-tigers were killed in the final round of fighting on the last day.

The end came for the LTTE leadership swiftly after that. After the last shot of the war was fired sometime either on May 18th or 19th, the sea-tiger leader Soosai's dead body was located along with those of other LTTE leaders in the proximity of a lake.

Sri Lanka will never again allow for any armed group to dominate any part of the country, including our territorial waters.

ENDGAME has come.

ENDGAME FOR THE SEA TIGERS

ENDGAME is on for the LTTE's land, air and sea borne terrorist hordes. As the combined Sri Lankan Defence Forces sweep through the previously tamil tiger dominated terrain the sea-tigers have succumbed to their devastatingly effective counter terror strategies implemented in a relentless campaign.

The sea-tigers have been virtually wiped out from the Sri Lankan waters as a credible force and even their attempts to launch any naval craft dealt with forcefully not only from the seas, but from land and air as well.

In the most recent such engagement SL Navy destroyed four sea tiger craft including a suicide boat, killing at least 25 sea tigers. These craft never even made it to the waters from where they were hidden in the jungle and were destroyed close to the beach. At least two large sized (40 feet long) attack craft were later found smouldering on their carriages.

In another development, a well designed large sized and high speed suicide craft capable of carrying a large warhead was captured on land. This craft could achieve speeds faster than some of the SLN's Dvora attack craft and could be manuevered from a distance via remote control. With its capability to deliver at least 2000lbs of high explosive in a high speed ram against any vessel, it could have been designed to strike a major naval target of the SLN.

WHERE CAN A TERRORIST GO THESE DAYS

THE sea tigers apparently don't want to go without a fuss. A few days ago, a 4-5 boat sea tiger flotilla tried to approach the government dominated areas in Mullaitivu by mingling among a group of other boats carrying civillians.

These were spotted and engaged by a few navy Rapid Action boat squadron craft which the tigers managed to repulse. Soon other Navy gunboats arrived on the scene and after protracted fighting destroyed all the sea tiger boats, killing at least 26 tigers along with a top ranker.

The navy is currently engaged in a multi-pronged offensive, maintaining a four tier surveillance zone around the Mullaitivu sea coast, ferrying men and material for the SLDF and also providing cover for the civillians escaping from the human shield of the tigers. Special boat squadron troops of the navy also conduct commando operations together with army special ops groups on many fronts.

LET OTHER NATIONS LEARN FROM THE SLN

Other nations Could Learn from Sri Lanka Navy’s Fight Against the Tamil Tigers
(London, 27th February 2009) –by Tim Fish

Tim Fish, IHS Jane’s maritime reporter, visited Sri Lanka in January to examine the Sri Lanka Navy’s contribution to the defeat by government forces of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) – a contribution that has been almost completely ignored by western media outlets.

In a feature for Jane’s Navy International, Tim Fish reports: “ Bringing the conflict to a conclusion after 30 years of war would not have been possible without the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN)”.

In order to counter the LTTE and its Sea Tiger cadres, the SLN developed three categories of small craft and associated warfighting tactics as part of a Small Boats Concept, which was a major turning point in the progress of the war against the separatist organisation. The Small Boats Concept effectively copied the Sea Tigers’ asymmetric tactics, but on a much larger scale.
With rudimentary shipbuilding facilities, Sri Lanka manufactured 150 or more of these small Inshore Patrol Craft (IPCs) and employed them in infantry-style tactics to gain the ascendancy over swarms of Sea Tiger attack craft and suicide boats.

However, as well as operating in littoral waters, the SLN proved that it could also take the fight to the LTTE far over the horizon, sinking eight warehouse ships up to 2,000 n miles from Sri Lanka.

Tim Fish says that other navies would do well to study the SLN’s modus operandi, in particular its development of strategies for defeating a modern four-dimensional insurgent group employing asymmetric tactics on land, in the air, on the seas and underwater.

“Internationally, maritime terrorism is a new threat that is developing in the Indian Ocean,” Fish writes. “While the conflict with the LTTE is approaching its conclusion, the application to extend Sri Lanka ’s Exclusive Economic Zone and the discovery of oil resources means that the SLN will play a vital role in the reunified country’s future maritime strategy.”

IHS Jane’s is an IHS Inc (NYSE: IHS) company.

SEA TIGER SOOSAI SURVIVES. BARELY...

CONTRARY to previous information, sri Lankan Military Intelligence now believes that Soosai survived the attack and is critically injured nevertheless.

MI also reports that the LTTE leader and 11 of his top deputies are holed up in the area cordoned off by the SL forces. The LTTE is also engaged in a desperate effort to hold the remaining civillians as a human shield and have repeatedly used lethal force to stop those who attempt to make a break into government controlled areas. Yesterday 19 civillians were massacred by LTTE goons and a large number injured for attempting to move out.

LAST SEA-TIGER BASE OVER-RUN, LEADER KILLED

SLA's 55 Division led by Brig. Prasanna de Silva over-ran the last base of the sea-tigers, effectively debilitating the chapter on sea-borne terrorism on Sri Lankan soil.

In a rather well timed air strike, the sea tiger leader Soosai and approx 12 other terrorist leaders have been reportedly killed by the SLAF. Earth moving equipment which rushed to the scene of the attack were later engaged by the SLAF as well.

This could very well mean the end of the Sea-tigers as a credible force in Sri Lankan waters.

NAVY HUNTS LTTE LOGISTICS VESSELS

Even though the SLN located and destroyed this vessel and four other escort boats of the LTTE, it is believed that the Tigers managed to unload at least half of the weapons carried on board before the encounter.

The LTTE's enhanced fire power in display since then is attributed to this shipment.

In the meantime, MI reports that the Sea-Tiger leader Soosai has refused to engage naval units in combat and the logistical functions are currently handled by a group still loyal to the LTTE leader Velupillai.

In further proof of splits in the terror outfit, the LTTE's intelligence head and former heir apparent Pottu Amman has been side lined. Other reports say that Balraj, another accomplished terrorist who supposedly died a natural death a few months ago was also assasinated before he could defect with a large number of cadres. Sri Lankan Military Intelligence had apparently been instrumental in turning him, as they did with Karuna.

THE NAVY TAKES ANOTHER GUN RUNNER OUT

This fast moving LTTE weapons transport made a run for it, but didn't quite make it past the SLN's accurate gunnery.

URGENT APPEAL

The following urgent request has been released by the MOD seeking help from overseas based Sri Lankans on behalf of our Armed Services.

The Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka has made a request through the Foreign Ministry, to all Missions abroad, to supply a medicine required to control foot infections caused by fungi and bacteria to overcome foot infections. The product should ideally contain a potent anti-fungal/anti-bacterial compound, the main ingredient of which contains 1% Triclosan. The Defence Ministry has indicated that the current product used by them is under the trade name Irgasan DP - 300. The trade name is indicated here for purpose of information only and these products by any other trade name is also in order. If you are unable to find the above product in USA, please try Clotrimazole 1% under the brand name LOTRINAN. We are kindly requesting you to contact all concerned Sri Lankans to assist our forces in their time of need.

All donations could either be delivered to the Consulate Office or to the nearest temple in your locality. If you wish to contribute money all cheques should be drawn in favour of the ' Consulate General of Sri Lanka ' for which a receipt will be issued by the Consulate. Your generous contributions towards this noble task is greatly appreciated.

With kind regards Ananda Wickramasinghe Consul General Consulate General for Sri Lanka - Los Angeles Suite 1405, #3250 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. USA 90010 Phone: 213 387 0213 Fax: 213 387 0216

Your friendly pharmacist may be able to suggest generic supplies that will adequately serve the purpose at a fraction of the cost.