Sri Lanka Armed Force

Military

Branches of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces

Sri Lanka Army T-55AM2 main battle tank

Sri Lanka Navy Flag Ship SLNS Sayurala

Sri Lanka Air Force Mil Mi-24 Attack Helicopter

The Sri Lanka Armed Forces, comprising the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force, come under the purview of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).^[242] The total strength of the three services is around 259,000 personnel, with nearly 36,000 reserves.^[243] Sri Lanka has not enforced military conscription.^[244] Paramilitary units include the Special Task Force, the Civil Security Force, and the Sri Lanka Coast Guard.^[245][246]
Since independence in 1948, the primary focus of the armed forces has been internal security, crushing three major insurgencies, two by Marxist militants of the JVP and a 30-year-long conflict with the LTTE which has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by 32 countries. The armed forces have been in a continuous mobilised state for the last 30 years.^[247][248] Marking a rare occurrence in modern military history, the Sri Lankan military was able to bring a decisive end to the Sri Lankan Civil War in May 2009.^[249] Sri Lanka has claimed to be the first country in the modern world to eradicate terrorism on its own soil.^[250] The Sri Lankan Armed Forces have engaged in United Nations peacekeeping operations since the early 1960s, contributing forces to permanent contingents deployed in several UN peacekeeping missions in Chad, Lebanon, and Haiti.