Fast Attack Flotilla
Encyclopedia
The 4th Fast Attack Flotilla (aka Dvora Squadron) is a force element flotilla
of the Sri Lanka Navy. The flotilla's mission is to provide heavily armed and fast patrol boat (called fast attack crafts or FACs) capability to counter sea tiger
movements along the coast and to protect naval and civilian shipping from sea tiger
suicide crafts.
fast patrol boats to counter LTTE gun running in the Palk Strait
from India
. With escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War
the Sea Tigers
began to poss a threat to the patrol boats of the Navy, with use of small fibreglass boats armed with machine guns. The flotilla was used as the primary offensive unit to counter these boats. When the Sea Tigers started to use boats for suicide bomber attacks on ships the unit was used for defensive operations too, such as escorting larger naval ships and civilian ships in coastal waters off the norther and eastern provinces of the country. Able to reach speeds of 45konts these FACs operate in pairs to counter sea tiger wolf pack tactics and also to defend each other against small suicide crafts that try ram them.
are installed as their primary armament, which can be slaved to state-of the art mast-mounted, day and night all weather long range electro-optic systems. This enables FACs to locate and target sea tiger boats at a greater distance, in all weather at high speeds. Newer FACs, specially Colombo class series III FACs are equipped with Elop MSIS optronic director and Typhoon GFCS as its own weapons control system. Also these crafts use surface search: Furuno FR 8250 or Corden Mk 2; I-band as its radar
. In addition to its main armament they carry additional weapon systems such as Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
s, automatic grenade launcher
s, PKM
general purpose machine gun
s, including 12.7 mm and 7.62 mm machine guns. These act as both offensive and point defense weapons to protect the FAC from suicide crafts, by destroying them before they could ram or explode close to the FAC. Therefor compared with similar patrol boats of other navies SLN FACs are more heavily armed and faster.
, however boats operate out of all major harbors. Individual units come under the direct command of the Flag officer
commanding that particular naval area it is assigned to.
Recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
of the Sri Lanka Navy. The flotilla's mission is to provide heavily armed and fast patrol boat (called fast attack crafts or FACs) capability to counter sea tiger
Sea Tigers
The Sea Tigers was the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was founded in 1984. The Sea Tigers had a number of small but effective suicide bomber vessels. During its existence it had gained a reputation as a capable adversary for the Sri Lankan Navy...
movements along the coast and to protect naval and civilian shipping from sea tiger
Sea Tigers
The Sea Tigers was the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was founded in 1984. The Sea Tigers had a number of small but effective suicide bomber vessels. During its existence it had gained a reputation as a capable adversary for the Sri Lankan Navy...
suicide crafts.
History
The flotilla was formed in the early 1980s with the Dvora classDvora class fast patrol boat
The Dvora class fast patrol boat is a fast class of patrol boats built by Israel Aerospace Industries for the Israeli Sea Corps based on the Israeli Dabur.-Sri Lanka:...
fast patrol boats to counter LTTE gun running in the Palk Strait
Palk Strait
Palk Strait is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Mannar district of the Northern Province of the island nation of Sri Lanka. It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with the Palk Bay and thence with the Gulf of Mannar in the southwest. The strait is wide. Several...
from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. With escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
the Sea Tigers
Sea Tigers
The Sea Tigers was the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was founded in 1984. The Sea Tigers had a number of small but effective suicide bomber vessels. During its existence it had gained a reputation as a capable adversary for the Sri Lankan Navy...
began to poss a threat to the patrol boats of the Navy, with use of small fibreglass boats armed with machine guns. The flotilla was used as the primary offensive unit to counter these boats. When the Sea Tigers started to use boats for suicide bomber attacks on ships the unit was used for defensive operations too, such as escorting larger naval ships and civilian ships in coastal waters off the norther and eastern provinces of the country. Able to reach speeds of 45konts these FACs operate in pairs to counter sea tiger wolf pack tactics and also to defend each other against small suicide crafts that try ram them.
Armament
Early Dvoras were armed with 2-3 machine guns as most patrol boats other navies do. However during the progress of the war the armament on board FACs were increased considerably due to the increase of arms carried on sea tiger boats that ranges from heavy anti aircraft machine guns to rocket launchers. Currently all FACs have Typhoon 25-30mm stabilized cannonTyphoon Weapon System
The Typhoon is a type of remote weapon station manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel, and it shares similar design principles and common technologies with Samson Remote Controlled Weapon Station , a land-based system manufactured by the same developer...
are installed as their primary armament, which can be slaved to state-of the art mast-mounted, day and night all weather long range electro-optic systems. This enables FACs to locate and target sea tiger boats at a greater distance, in all weather at high speeds. Newer FACs, specially Colombo class series III FACs are equipped with Elop MSIS optronic director and Typhoon GFCS as its own weapons control system. Also these crafts use surface search: Furuno FR 8250 or Corden Mk 2; I-band as its radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
. In addition to its main armament they carry additional weapon systems such as Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
s, automatic grenade launcher
Automatic grenade launcher
An automatic grenade launcher or grenade machine gun is a grenade launcher firing rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine. They can be attached to a tripod. Automatic launchers include the Vektor Y3, AGS-17, and the HK GMG, which all fire at a higher velocity...
s, PKM
PK machine gun
The PK is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service...
general purpose machine gun
General purpose machine gun
A general-purpose machine gun is a multi-purpose weapon: it is a machine gun firing a full-power rifle cartridge and which can be used in a variety of roles, from a bipod- or tripod-mounted infantry support weapon to a helicopter door gun or a vehicle-mounted support weapon...
s, including 12.7 mm and 7.62 mm machine guns. These act as both offensive and point defense weapons to protect the FAC from suicide crafts, by destroying them before they could ram or explode close to the FAC. Therefor compared with similar patrol boats of other navies SLN FACs are more heavily armed and faster.
Organization
The flotilla is based at SLN Dockyard, TrincomaleeTrincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
, however boats operate out of all major harbors. Individual units come under the direct command of the Flag officer
Flag Officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in...
commanding that particular naval area it is assigned to.
Boat classes
- Super Dvora Mk IIISuper Dvora Mk IIISuper Dvora Mark III is the latest generation of the venerable Dvora family of fast patrol boats or fast attack crafts . Manufactured by IAI Ramta in 2004 these vessels are capable of speeding up to in littoral waters thanks to its state of the art thrust vectoring control Articulated Surface...
- Super Dvora - Mk IISuper Dvora Mk II class patrol boatThe Super Dvora Mark II fast patrol boats is a high-speed class of patrol boats meant for a variety of naval missions from typical off-shore coastal patrol mission profiles to high-speed, high-maneuver littoral warfare. Built by Israel Aerospace Industries for the Israeli Sea Corps the Super Dvora...
- Shaldag classShaldag class fast patrol boatThe Shaldag class Fast Patrol Boat is a small but fast class of patrol boats developed for the Israeli Sea Corps and launched in 1989, it has since seen service with several other navies. Designed for security tasks where high intercept speeds are required, such as interdiction of terrorism and...
- Colombo classUltra Fast Attack CraftThe Ultra Fast Attack Craft, commonly known as the Colombo Class, is an ultra high-speed class of patrol boats meant for a variety of naval missions from typical off-shore coastal patrol mission profiles to high-speed, high-maneuver littoral warfare...
(Locally built) - Dvora - Mk IDvora class fast patrol boatThe Dvora class fast patrol boat is a fast class of patrol boats built by Israel Aerospace Industries for the Israeli Sea Corps based on the Israeli Dabur.-Sri Lanka:...
- Simonneau class
- Chevron class
- Trinity Marine class
- Killer class
Recipient of the Parama Weera VibhushanayaParama Weera VibhushanayaParama Weera Vibhushanaya , is the highest Sri Lankan military decoration equivalent to the British Victoria Cross , or the United States Medal of Honor, that's awarded as a reward for all ranks of the tri services individual acts of gallantry...
- Lieutenant-Commander Jude Lakmal Wijethunge
Notable members
- Vice AdmiralVice AdmiralVice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Thisara SamarasingheThisara SamarasingheAdmiral Thisara Sugeeshwara Gunasekara Samarasinghe, RSP, VSV, USP, ndc, psc, DISS, MNI, SLN is a Sri Lankan naval officer and diplomat...
, RSPRana Sura PadakkamaThe Rana Sura Padakkama is a medal presented to members of all ranks of the Military of Sri Lanka for individual and/or associated acts of heroism in facing the enemy and performed of their own accord. The decoration is presented by the President of Sri Lanka...
, VSVVishista Seva VibhushanayaThe Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya medal and bar are presented to Sri Lankan senior military officers of three services, given that their loyal service is of not less than 25 years and possess a perfectly flawless record of moral and military conduct, will be appropriate for the award...
, USPUttama Seva PadakkamaThe Uttama Seva Padakkama is presented to all ranks of the Regular Forces of the Sri Lankan military for valuable service and dedication to duty with the outstanding ability, merit and excellent conduct, given that they count not less than 15 years continuous and uninterrupted service and possess...
, ndcNDCNDC or ndc may refer to:*IATA code for Nanded Airport, India* ndc, "name daemon control program" in some Unix-based BIND name-server environments* N.D.C., a 2002 single by Australian band Jebediah* National Defence Commission of North Korea...
, psc, DISS, MNIMNIThe abbreviation MNI may stand for:* Miami Network Interface, a network hardware API for Amiga computers.* The professional title for an individual who is a Member of the Nautical Institute....
, SLNSri Lankan Navy-The Beginning and World War II:In January 1938 the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force was created with Commander W.G. Beauchamp as Commanding Officer under ordinance No I of 1937. On 31 August 1939 at the out set of World War II, the CNVF was mobilized for war duties...
- former Commander of the Sri Lankan NavyCommander of the Navy (Sri Lanka)The Commander of the Navy is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Navy. The current Commander of the Navy is Vice Admiral D.W.S. Dissanayake...
External links
- Home Sri Lanka Navy takes part in the 60th Independence Day Celebrations and accords the Nation a 25 Gun Salute as a Tribute
- www.naval-technology.com
- Video documentary by Al Jazeera
- Colombo Class (Fast Attack Craft-Gun)(PFC)
- 11 LTTE boats destroyed and 70 killed - Pulmodai
- The Wave of Bravery and Courage...
- Fluctuating fortunes in a race against time
- Jetliner - Swiftest link between North and South Mega troop carrier hallmark of efficiency: From Ranil Wijeyapala on board the Jetliner