Air Vice Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana has been appointed as the 18th Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force.

His appointment will come into effect from November 2. Air Vice Marshal Pathirana is an old boy of Dharmaraja College, Kandy. He was one of the three pilots who was selected for advanced flying training in Pakistan Air Force and secured the award for the Best Allied Flight Cadet by the Pakistan Air Force.

He is a qualified Fighter Pilot, Flying Instructor and an active operational flyer who has flown over 3500 flying hours in over 15 types of aircraft  and also held the positions of “Command Instrument Rating Examiner” and “Command Flight Safety Officer” of the Sri Lanka Air Force. In addition to his military flying career he holds a Commercial Pilot’s Licence and is a Flying Examiner for the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka.

In 2002, he earned the distinction of attending the esteemed Air Command and Staff Collage, 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.

Pathirana, who joined the Sri Lanka Air Force on January 2, 1987, has participated in almost all the major counter terrorist operations conducted in Sri Lanka and his bravery has been acknowledged through the award of gallantry awards on six occasions.