Commander of the Air Force calls on President Rajapaksa

by Zulfick Farzan 04-11-2020 | 2:31 PM

Colombo (News 1st); The Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana made his first official call on the President on Wednesday morning (4 November 2020) at the Presidential Secretariat.

This visit signifies the Commander’s first official meeting with the President since assuming duties as the 18th Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force.

During the ensuing cordial discussion, the President conveyed his best wishes to Air Marshal Pathirana on his new appointment as the Commander of the Air Force.

The Commander made a presentation of mementos to the President to mark this historical occasion.

Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana commencing his career in the Sri Lanka Air Force as a Reconnaissance pilot, subsequently transited to Light Transport flying prior to moving into fast jets as a member of the first batch of pilots to fly supersonic aircraft in Sri Lanka.

He commanded No 5 Fighter and subsequently No 10 Fighter Squadrons flying the Kfir C 2 / C 7 extensively.

In addition to Kfir and F-7 fighters he is qualified in over 10 types of aircraft earning him over 3,500 flying hours.

Air Marshal Pathirana was appointed to the Air Force Board of Management in 2017 as the Director Air Operations and prior to being appointed as the Commander, he served as the Chief of Staff from 2019 onwards.