Sri Lanka Air Force Museum

The museum

The Sri Lanka Air Force Museum at Ratmalana collects and interprets the aircraft, artifacts, and aviation history of the Sri Lanka Air Force. Its exhibits span the development of military flying on the island, including helicopter operations.

The Sri Lanka Air Force Museum at Ratmalana collects and interprets the aircraft, artifacts, and aviation history of the Sri Lanka Air Force. Its exhibits span the development of military flying on the island, including helicopter operations.

The collection places particular emphasis on the Sri Lanka Air Force’s training, reconnaissance, fixed-wing and rotary-wing operations. The museum is associated with a military airfield, so entry requirements and restricted areas matter. Its official website reports more than forty aircraft displayed, but the selected aircraft records here include only individually evidenced types.

Aircraft listed below are selected documented collection or exhibit entries, not a complete museum inventory. Individual aircraft may be stored, loaned, undergoing restoration, or inaccessible during renovations. Where the evidence does not establish their current location on public display, display status is marked unknown. Verify visit arrangements and individual exhibit access directly with the institution before traveling.

The museum occupies part of the operating Ratmalana air-base environment and follows the development of military aviation from the Royal Ceylon Air Force to the present service. The named collection includes small primary trainers, jet trainers, tactical fighters, transports and rescue helicopters. Pucará, Kfir and MiG types reveal the much later operational period, while the Dove, Heron, Chipmunk and Dakota represent a different generation of air transport and training. The collection also preserves incomplete and wrecked aircraft, which remain distinct in the inventory rather than being advertised as intact aircraft visitors can enter.