SLAF Aircraft Intercepted & Destroyed An LTTE Aircraft

Full text of an official statement released by the SLAF follows;

(September 09, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In the early hours of today at approximately 0310 hrs LTTE terrorists launched a pre-dawn ground assault coordinated with artillery fire and an air raid with the intention of causing damage to Air Force assets in the Vavuniya air base.
Subsequent to the commencement of the ground attack from the South of the Air Base an LTTE aircraft was detected by the radar at around 3.26 a.m. A second LTTE Aircraft was spotted 5 minutes later and SLAF interceptor jets scrambled from SLAF Base Katunayake to engage the enemy craft.

The highly skilled ground radar controllers and the highly professional and committed fighter pilots pooled their skills to home in on the intruders. The first air to air kill, to be recorded over Sri Lankan skies since World War II, was thus enacted. One of the LTTE Zlin 143 machines was shot down over the Mulativu Jungles at approximately 0355 am, ensuring a place in Sri Lankan aviation history for the pilot and the Chinese built F7 interceptor .

The ground assault was also blunted by the valiant efforts of the SLAF Ground troops and the SL Army personnel who had now rushed to join the battle to prevent the enemy achieving his devious ends. Eleven terrorists met their end and their bodies were recovered subsequently far from the SLAF perimeter, a mission that ended in utter failure for the LTTE.

Five SLAF personnel sustained injury due to the Artillery attack, whilst a few buildings were also superficially damaged due to sharpnel.
- Sri Lanka Guardian