LTTE AND THEIR AIR POWER TECHNIQUES!!!

Small chopper, aircraft still with Tigers

In a shocking discovery, several surrendered LTTE top level cadres had revealed that the LTTE is still in possession of a two-man Chopper and another fixed-wing air craft hidden inside the ‘safe zone’.

Though there were earlier reports that the LTTE still had a fixed-wing aircraft, the military totally denied those reports. But the latest intelligence reports revealed this after interrogating several of the escaped LTTE cadres who had come with the civilians. They had reported seeing both these flying machines.

Apparently purchased in the early 1990s, the chopper is believed to be of Jet Range type. The Chopper had been used for the first time to drop flowers at the Wattuval Kovil festival West of Mullaitivu, where thousands of civilians participated.

Then in November, 1998, again the chopper had been used to sprinkle flowers over the cemeteries of the slain LTTE cadres in Mulliyawalai during the celebration of the Mahaveer Week.

Again in 2004, the chopper dropped flowers on Mahaveer Day Ceremony held in Vishvamadu.

A surrendered LTTE cadre had revealed that the LTTE had four fixed wing aircraft and one chopper. Two of the fixed wing aircraft were destroyed by the Security forces in Colombo recently. He said one fixed wing aircraft is still with the LTTE and he does not know the whereabouts of the other aircraft.

Currently, an LTTE leader called Pushpanandan is in charge of the remaining two LTTE aircraft. The LTTE had at least ten trained pilots led by Thevihen. Sritharan and Ruban who piloted the two LTTE aircraft to Colombo were killed.

It is said that soon after the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement, Sritharan and Ruban had gone to a former Soviet republic in 2002 for pilot training. On their return in 2003, more than four foreigners had carried out an indepth training to LTTE airwing members at Alfa-4 base in Vishvamadu, where the troops found several mobile homes with luxury facilities. For the training, Ruban, Muttamil, Potkiram, Kallawanan (Air craft technician), Thendral (a Black Tiger, who was killed by the military after exploding a claymore mine targeting his vehicle in Welioya), Muhiliwannan and about 20 cadres were taken. All the training sessions had been carried out during the night and all the pilots were members of the black Tiger brigade.

In 2004, a cargo aircraft had landed at the LTTE’s main runway in Iranamadu and unloaded a large stock of military items. However, the surrendered LTTE cadre was unable to identify these items.

An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) of the Sri Lanka Air Force that was destroyed recently over Villaththikulam, had been gunned down by one of the LTTE aircraft. A Multi-purpose Machine Gun, fixed to LTTE aircraft had been used to fire at the UAV.

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