Sri Lanka Air Force Women's Wing Explained

Unit Name:	Sri Lanka Air Force Women's Wing
Country:	Sri Lanka
Branch:	Sri Lanka Air Force

The Sri Lanka Air Force Women's Wing was formed in 1983 which contains the female members of the Sri Lanka Air Force, both airwomen and lady officers. Only unmarried women can join. Members of this wing serve in the same roles as their male counterparts.^[1] Women were first admitted to the Sri Lanka Air Force in 1972 when female officers joined the Volunteer Air Force.^[2] The Women's Wing was formed on 1983 with the assistance of Women's Royal Air Force (Britain).^[3] Initially, women could not become pilots.^[4] However, in 1998 women were recruited to train for the elite pilots' wing to replace losses to the Tamil Tigers in their insurgency. 800 women applied for the 33 available places to fly transport planes.^[5] Officers Commanding include:

• Air Vice Marshal G. D. Perera (?  - 1 August 2002)^[6]
• Group Captain M. H. Karannagoda (2 August 2002  - ?)^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Recruits Pass Out In Ampara. airforce.lk. Sri Lanka Air Force Headquarters. 24 February 2017.
2. Web site: Air Force to increase women wing to 30 percent – AF Commander. 2023-07-07. CeylonToday. en.
3. Web site: Women's Wing. airforce.lk.
4. Raj K. Mehta, Lost Victory: The Rise & Fall of LTTE Supremo, V. Prabhakaran, p. 135, Pentagon Press, 2010 .
5. Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada, "Sri Lanka: Organization and structure of the Sri Lankan Airforce including ranks, units, squadrons and the duties assigned to different personnel; location of squadrons and departments", UNHCR Refworld, Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, 14 March 2001.
6. Web site: 2002 Sri Lanka Air Force Annual Performance Report . . 6.