The Bandaranaike International Airport attack was a suicide raid Black Tigers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on 24 July 2001 on the Sri Lanka Air Force base SLAF Katunayake and the adjoining Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka. The attack was one of the boldest the LTTE mounted during its war with the Sri Lankan government, and had a profound impact on the country's military, economy, and airline industry.
Lieutenant General Parami Sudammika Bandara Kulatunga, RSP, VSV, USP was a Sri Lanka Army general. He was serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and its third highest-ranking officer at the time of his assassination. On the morning of 26 June, he was killed by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber who drove an explosives-laden motorbike into his staff car as it was driving to a military base at Pannipitiya near Colombo.
The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; the army was renamed as the 'Sri Lanka Army' when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972. In 2024, the Army had approximately 150,000 personnel.
The Rana Wickrama Padakkama is awarded to Sri Lankan military service personnel serving in both the regular- and volunteer forces as a reward for:
...individual or associated acts of bravery in the face of the enemy and performed voluntarily...
The Jaffna University Helidrop was the first of the operations launched by the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) aimed at disarming the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by force and capturing the city of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in the opening stages of Operation Pawan during the Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Mounted on the midnight of 12 October 1987, the operation was planned as a fast heliborne assault involving Mi-8's of the No.109 Helicopter Unit, the 10th Para Commandos and a contingent of the 13th Sikh Light Infantry. The aim of the operation was to capture the LTTE leadership at Jaffna University building which served as the Tactical Headquarters of the LTTE, which was expected to shorten Operation Pawan, the battle for Jaffna. However, the operation ended disastrously, failing to capture its objectives due to intelligence and planning failures. The heli-dropped force suffered significant casualties, with nearly the entire Sikh LI detachment of twenty-nine troops, along with six Para commandos, killed in action.
Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka is a retired Sri Lankan army officer and politician. He was the eighteenth Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, and under his command the Sri Lankan Army ended the 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009, defeating the militant group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; he thereafter briefly served as the Chief of Defence Staff. After retiring from the Army with the rank of General, he entered politics as the common opposition candidate in the 2010 presidential election contesting against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Commando Regiment is the commando formation of the Sri Lanka Army. The unit specializes in various roles including hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, counter-insurgency, and personnel recovery. It was formed in 1980 and is based in Ganemulla, a suburb of Colombo.
Colonel Tuan Nizam Muthaliff, RWP, MI was a Sri Lanka Army officer and intelligence officer who, while serving as the commanding officer, 1 Military Intelligence Corps, was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the ceasefire and peace process.
The National Cadet Corps (NCC) is a youth organisation in Sri Lanka, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Navy and Air Force sections. The corp is open for secondary school students on voluntary basis and its officers are government teachers and educational administrators, who serve as instructors. The Cadets are given basic military training in small arms and parades, as well as leadership training.
Operation Liberation also known as the Vadamarachchi Operation was the military offensive carried out by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in May and June 1987 to recapture the territory of Vadamarachchi in the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE. At the time it was the largest combined services operation undertaken by the armed forces deploying multiple brigade-size formation, becoming the first conventional warfare engagement on Sri Lankan soil after the end of British colonial rule. The operation involved nearly 4,000 troops, supported by ground-attack aircraft, helicopter gunships and naval gun boats. The offensive achieved its primary objective, however operations were suspended when the Indian government dropped food supplies over Jaffna in Operation Poomalai on June 4, 1987, which prompted the Sri Lankan government to accept the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord.
The Sri Lanka Military Academy, commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the oldest military academy in Sri Lanka, and trains commissioned officers for the Sri Lanka Army. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. It has capacity to train more than 300 cadets.
The Second Battle of Elephant Pass, was fought in April 2000 for the control of the Sri Lankan military base in Elephant Pass, Jaffna.
Major General Janaka Perera, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP was a Sri Lankan General and politician. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and is considered one of the most distinguished generals in Sri Lankan history. After retiring from the army he served as a Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to Indonesia. He was the opposition leader of the North Central Provincial Council until he and his wife were killed on 6 October 2008 by a suicide bomber. The LTTE have been blamed for the bombing by Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Operation Balavegaya was a combined military operation launched by the Sri Lankan military in Jaffna, the largest amphibious assault in its history. Operation Balavegaya was launched in response to the siege of Elephant Pass by the LTTE. It is believed that Operation Balavegaya was the largest and most successful military operation of the Sri Lankan military until Operation Riviresa in 1995.
General Shavendra Silva, is a Sri Lanka Army four star general who is the current Chief of Defence Staff, the head of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces serving from 1 January 2020. He also served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 19 August 2019 to 31 May 2022. His other important appointments include, Chief of Staff of the army, Adjutant General and Director of Operations of the Army. During the Sri Lankan civil war he gained fame as the General Officer Commanding of the elite 58 Division. He had also served as the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Headquarters.
Major General Ananda Sri Sisira Kumara Hamangoda, RWP, RSP, USP was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer, who was the former brigade commander of the 51-2 Brigade based in Jaffna, when he was killed by a LTTE female suicide bomber.
Field marshal (FM) is the five-star rank of the Sri Lanka Army and ranks immediately above general. the rank has been awarded only once, to Sarath Fonseka as an honorary rank. It is equivalent to admiral of the fleet and marshal of the Sri Lanka Air Force.
Major General Dampath Fernando is a retired Sri Lankan army general. He was the 52nd Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and a former Colonel of the Regiment of the Gemunu Watch.
Star Insignia of Army officer vehicles differ from each other starting from one star up until five stars. The first four stars should be granted to an officer in active duty while the fifth Star insignia can be wore by a retired officer. The only retired officer who is permitted to wear the five star insignia in Sri Lanka is Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka.
Sri Lanka 
Sri Lanka Army 
Major General 
Rana Sura Padakkama 
Uttama Seva Padakkama