The Regiment Special Force (RSF) is a Sri Lanka Air Forces elite special force unit, which is part of the

SLAF Regiment The Sri Lanka Air Force Regiment is a specialized ground combat corps within the Sri Lanka Air Force, responsible for capturing and defending airfields and associated installations. Its members are the SLAF Regiment Officers and the airmen of oper ...

. It was raised in 2006.The RSF Wing is an independent formation of the SLAF and commanded by a Commanding Officer who is responsible to the Commander of the Air Force through Director Ground Operations for the efficient and effective function.

History

The squadron was formed due to the

Bandaranaike Airport attack The Bandaranaike Airport attack was an assault by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Bandaranaike International Airport, on July 24, 2001. The attack was one of the boldest the LTTE mounted during its war with the Sri Lankan govern ...

by the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

.. Initially formed as Air Base Defence and Rescue Squadron on 7 July 2003 it was later renamed as Regiment Special Forces Wing in 2006.

Role

* CA/CP/Reinforcement Operations. * Battlefield Rescue/ Recovery Operations with respect to downed aircraft/aircrew and passengers. * Sea/Air/Land disaster related search and rescue missions related to natural and man made disasters. * Securing landing zones/pickup zones for insertion extraction of special operations forces of Army/Navy/Air Force. * Recapturing air bases. *Provide defenses in an enemy attack as a rapid deployment force. *Rescue operations and recovering of downed air crew in enemy or friendly terrain. *Assist civil authorities in national emergency.

Capabilities

;CQB or Close Combat Fighting Most Air Bases are heavily built up due to availability of aircraft hangars and other related infrastructure. RSF skills on house clearance and close quarter fighting provides an added advantage for operating effectively with minimum collateral damage in Air Bases. ;Special Reconnaissance SR by the RSF can be highly effective when conventional or tactical collection assets are unable to collect information of operational significance. ;Explosive Ordnance Disposal ;Airborne Forces ;Combat Search and Rescue ;Security Warfare And Advanced Tactics Course

Training

The unit's personnel are trained in air base rescue operations, field craft, bomb disposal, fire fighting, water survival and rescue operations. Advanced training is carried out at the Sri Lanka Army Special Force training school at Maduruoya. * RSF basic course * Heli-born Course * Water-born Course * Tactical Urban Fighting Unit (TUF) * Special operations phase for advance Regt Cadets. * Jungle Survival Course for air crews * Orientation courses for Air gunners * Refresher courses for RSF * QRT Course * Leadership Training for out siders * Team building Corse for School cadets

Equipment

;Handguns *

Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H., Glock Ges.m.b.H. The ...

* M9 ;Assault Rifles * M16 *

QBZ-95 The Type 95 automatic rifle () or QBZ-95 is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured by Norinco, and issued since 1995 as the service rifle for the People's Liberation Army, People's Armed Police and various paramilitary law enforcemen ...

SAR-21 The SAR 21 ("Singapore Assault Rifle - 21st Century") is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in Singapore, chambered for the 5.56x45mm cartridge. First revealed and subsequently adopted by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as its ...

Type 56 The Type 56 (; literally; "Assault Rifle, Model of 1956") is a Chinese 7.62×39mm rifle. It is a variant of the Soviet-designed AK-47 (specifically Type 3) and AKM rifles.Miller, David (2001). ''The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns' ...

-2 *

(Ceremonial purposes only) ;Sub-machine Guns *

Uzi The Uzi (; he, עוזי, Ūzi; officially cased as UZI) is a family of Israeli open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns and machine pistols first designed by Major Uziel "Uzi" Gal in the late 1940s, shortly after the establishment of the ...

MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...

(MP5A3, MP5SD6, MP5KA5) ;Machine Guns *

Type 80 machine gun The Type 80 () is a general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) manufactured by Norinco in China, based on the Soviet PKM. The machine gun was certified for design finalisation in 1980 and entered the PLA service in the mid-1980s, specifically in 1983. Th ...

FN MAG The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, inc ...

;Snipers *

L96A1 The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed and manufactured by the British company Accuracy International. It has proved popular as a civilian, police, and military rifle since its introduction in th ...

* PSG1 * M93 ;Grenade Launchers *

M203 The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older stand-alone M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilizes the high-low propulsion system to keep recoil forces ...

* MGL ;Rocket Launchers *

Type 69 RPG The Type 69 85mm RPG (Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, 'Hand Anti Tank Grenade Launcher'), made by Norinco, is a Chinese variant of the Soviet RPG-7. First introduced in 1972, the Type 69 is a common individual ...

;Anti-Aircraft Weapons Systems * SA-18 * L40/70 *

ZSU-23-2 The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet Union, Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft autocannon, twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU i ...

TCM-20 The M45 Quadmount (nicknamed the "meat chopper" and "Krautmower"Rottman, Gordon L., Browning .50-Caliber Machine Guns', Osprey Publishing (2010), , p. 19-20 for its high rate of fire) was a weapon mounting consisting of four of the "HB", or "hea ...

;Vehicles *

Unibuffel The Unibuffel is a mine-protected wheeled MRAP Infantry mobility vehicle used by the Sri Lankan military, which is an improved version of the Unicorn, made by the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. More than 53 Unibuffels had been ma ...

* Defender *

Unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

; Mortars * W84 * Type 89

External links