During the civil war the SLAF used UAVs for reconnaissance operations. They used drones from US and Israel such as the IAI Searcher, E.M.I.T Blue Horizon 2 and the RQ-2 Pioneer. In 2010 the Sri Lanka Air Force started to build the prototypes of a new locally made UAV under the supervision of the Air Chief Marshal.
Design
The aircraft is a HTOL UAV with a high wing, twin-boom tail and a single pusher engine. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) developed by the CRD consists of the UAV aircraft, two ground control stations (GCS) and a mobile Advanced Ground Control Station (AGCS). The data from this UAS program is being used for the development of the Lihiniya MK II which will have a range of 100km.[1][2]
