Non-Subscriber Extract
Tamil rebels take to skies to attack Sri Lankan base
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| 26 March 2007 |
| EVENT |
| On 25 March, the ethnic insurgent Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) became the world's first non-state armed group to undertake a bombing raid using its own aircraft without external support. |
The LTTE’s use of air power is not unexpected. The Sri Lankan government has long accused the rebels of developing an air wing, possibly called Vaanpuligal, stating in mid-2005 that the LTTE had built and was maintaining a 1,250 m air strip in Mullaitivu district.
Photographs released by the LTTE on 26 March show the LTTE leader Prabhakaran with six air wing personnel, a light aircraft that appears to be a Czech-built Zlin Z-143, and bombs attached to an aircraft.
| FORECAST |
| The low casualty rate of the bombing raid (three dead and 16 injured) and the failure to damage any aircraft, which have hampered LTTE operations, demonstrates the limited tactical utility of such an air wing, unless used in a suicide capacity. As such, continued violence in the east and north and further military defeats for the LTTE are probable, while the group will likely use more unconventional and suicide tactics to try to prevent further losses. |
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© 2007 Jane's Information Group
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