Colombo Air Symposium 2018
The Colombo Air Symposium 2018 organized by the Sri Lanka Air Force will once again see a singular gathering of intellectuals with the purpose of sharing and furthering their knowledge on a current and relevant topic related to Air Power in the 21st century.
This year, the symposium will be conducted on the topic of ‘ Air Strategy in Substantiating the Geo- Strate gic Importance of Sri Lanka.’ It will be held on the 18th and 19th of October at the Eagles’ Lakeside Banquet & Convention Hall, Attidiya.
The Colombo Air Symposium on its fourth instalment this year, has found its niche as the only forum for international scholars to talk about the importance of the air space above our motherland and it’s effective utilization for the sake of national and regional security. For the Sri Lanka Air Force, it proves to be a rich source of new perspectives and fresh thinking on how it can best achieve its vision of “Ensuring National Security through effective employment of Air Power.”
The term “Security” is no more merely restricted to the meaning of protection from an enemy; it carries a broader meaning of keeping a country or region safe in all aspects. The Colombo Air Symposium, organized by Sri Lanka Air Force under the direct supervision and guidance of the Commander of Air Force, Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy, provides an opportunity to look at the role of Air Power in the provision of security in all its dimensions.
‘Colombo Air Symposium 2018’ will see HE the president, Maithreepala Sirisena officiate as the chief guest. The Hon. Ruwan Wijewardene, State Minister of Defence and Mr. Kapila Waidyarathne, Secretary, Ministry of Defence will be the Guests of Honour. Prof Sampath Amaratunga, Vice Chancellor of the Sri Jayawardanapura University will deliver Keynote address.
This year’s Colombo Air Symposium will see over 40 Foreign Delegates attending from over 20 Countries, the highest in its history. It will also feature the richest composition so far and the highest number of foreign representation as Research Authors, numbering 7. Two AVM’s from Sri Lanka Air Force, a Maj Gen from Sri Lanka Army, a Rear Admiral from SL Navy and the Dy Director BCIS will complete the lineup of papers presented at the event.
The ‘Air Symposium 2018’ is themed on ‘Air Strategy in Substantiating the GeoStrategic Importance of Sri Lanka’ with the view of creating a forum for understanding the productive geo- strategic deployment of collective air power in meeting national, regional and global level challenges in the future. The main objectives of the forum are:
To enhance the knowledge transferring and understanding related to geo-strategic prominence and the air power capabilities of stake holders in reaching a common goal.
To explore the conditions and necessities on maritime security in the Indian ocean with respect to Geopolitical perspective of Sri Lanka and the role of the collaborative airpower in the Asian and Extra Asian region.
To enrich the discourse on the importance of collaborative air power for national, regional and global security concerns.
To explore the future avenues of networking the collaborative air power in optimizing the advantages created by the developing world economic trends. To provide a platform to absorb the experiences of deriving positive outcomes in a strategically challenging geo-political condition.
To establish a dialogue on possibilities of unilateral air-strategic relationships which would be required by the dynam- ic geo- political developments in the South Asian region.
To strengthen the collaboration, goodwill and understanding among the stakeholders of global and regional security networks.
A total of thirty one diverse professionals representing SLAF, SL Army, SL Navy, Bandaranayke Centre for International Studies, LKI, KDU and Friendly Foreign Nations such as Australia, Bangladesh, India, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan and USA submitted papers for the symposium. Of these, 12 authors will present their papers during the event under six sessions, as follows:
The First session, entitled Harnessing the Advantage, will address how Sri Lanka Air Force can exploit this advantage to protect the skies. The Second, on the topic “Next Generation Air Force”, will focus on what is to be the Air Strategy for a smaller maritime nation.
“Dynamics of Developing Air Power” will be the topic of the third session, where will be discussed how air power contributes to stimulate growth and development to ensure the national security of a country. Resemblance in Employment, will focus on how air forces and aviation units in the region can unite to fight regional issues and challenges. The fifth session under the title Synergistic Effect, will explore effective mechanisms in war fighting and in facing challenges in HADR. The final session, entitled Cross Service Cooperation, will address how military forces will contribute to enhance security through mutual support and cooperation.