Former SLAF commander promoted to Air Chief Marshal

COLOMBO (News 1st); President Ranil Wickremasinghe in his capacity as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces promoted Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana to the four star rank of Air Chief Marshal with effect from Thursday (29 June 2023).

Air Chief Marshal Pathirana took over as the 18th Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force on 03 November 2020 and is scheduled to relinquish his command on Thursday (29 June 2023) at Air Force Headquarters.

Profile of Air Chief Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana:

Born on 30th December 1965, Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana is a proud product of Dharmaraja College Kandy. 

Having joined the SLAF as an Officer Cadet on 2nd July 1985, he completed his Basic Ground Training at Diyatalawa, securing the award for the Best Cadet of the 14th Officer Cadets Course. 

He was a member of the first batch of pilots who were selected for advance flying training in the Pakistan Air Force and secured the award for the Best Allied Flight Cadet by the Pakistan Air Force. 

Air Marshal Pathirana was commissioned in the rank of Pilot Officer on 2nd January 1987 at the PAF Academy, Risalpur, Pakistan. Initially commencing his career in the Sri Lanka Air Force as a reconnaissance pilot, he subsequently transited to Light Transport flying prior to moving on to 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. Air Marshal Pathirana is a qualified flying instructor and a flying examiner. In addition to Kfir and F-7 fighters, he is qualified to operate over 10 types of aircraft earning over 3,500 flying hours. In addition, he holds a Commercial Pilots License and is a Flying Examiner for the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. 

Air Marshal Pathirana followed his Junior Command and Staff Course at the Command and Staff and Training Institute, Bangladesh and he also earned the distinction of attending the esteemed Air Command and Staff College, Air University US Air Force, Alabama, USA, where he became the first Sri Lankan Air Force Officer to obtain the prestigious Masters in Operational Art and Science awarded by the Air University, Alabama, USA. In the year 2004, he successfully read for his 2nd Master’s Degree (Defence Studies) in Management awarded by the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University where he became first in the order of merit. He attended the National Defence College, New Delhi, India which earned him the distinguished title “ndc” and was awarded a Master in Philosophy from the University of Chennai in 2012. 

In recognition of his unblemished and distinguished service, Air Marshal Pathirana has been awarded the “Vishishta Seva Vibhushanaya” and the “Uttama Seva Padakkama”. For his gallant and selfless contribution during the humanitarian operations Air Marshal Pathirana was awarded gallantry medals on 8 occasions. namely, “Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya” twice, “Rana Wickrama Padakkama” twice and “Rana Sura Padakkama” on four occasions. 

Air Marshal Pathirana later went on to command three Air Bases, which includes a tenure as the Commandant of the Air Force Academy. He 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.
 
Air Marshal Pathirana is an avid golfer who also served as the Chairman of SLAF Golf Previously, he served as the Chairman of SLAF Athletics. He is married to Mrs. Charmini Pathirana and is the loving father of Bhashini and Vinura.