# Commander of the Air Force (Sri Lanka)

The Commander of the Air Force is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Air Force. The current Commander of the Air Force is Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe. It is a position comparable to that of Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force acts as a deputy commander within the command structure.
All serving air force commanders have been of the rank of air marshal, promoted to the honorary rank of air chief marshal on retirement.

## List of commanders

| No. | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Unit | Ref. |
| 1 | Bladon, GrahamAir Commodore Graham Bladon CBE (1899–1967) | 5 May 1950 | 24 October 1958 | 8 years, 172 days | – | |
| 2 | Barker, JohnAir Vice Marshal John Barker CB, CBE, DFC (1910–2004) | 24 October 1958 | 12 November 1962 | 4 years, 19 days | – | |
| 3 | Amerasekera, RohanAir Vice Marshal Rohan Amerasekera DFC & Bar (1916–1974) | 12 November 1962 | 31 December 1970 | 8 years, 49 days | No. 2 Squadron SLAF | |
| 4 | Mendis, PaddyAir Chief Marshal Deshamanya Paddy Mendis (1933–2022) | 1 January 1971 | 1 November 1976 | 5 years, 305 days | No. 2 Squadron SLAF No. 5 Squadron SLAF | |
| 5 | Goonatilake, HarryAir Chief Marshal Harry Goonatilake USP (1929–2008) | 1 November 1976 | 30 April 1981 | 4 years, 180 days | No. 2 Squadron SLAF | |
| 6 | Perera, DickAir Chief Marshal Dick Perera VSV | 1 May 1981 | 30 April 1985 | 3 years, 364 days | No. 2 Squadron SLAF | |
| 7 | Fernando, WalterAir Chief Marshal Walter Fernando VSV | 1 May 1985 | 31 July 1990 | 5 years, 91 days | No. 4 Squadron SLAF | |
| 8 | Gunawardena, TerryAir Chief Marshal Terry Gunawardena VSV | 1 August 1990 | 16 February 1994 | 3 years, 199 days | No. 2 Squadron SLAF | |
| 9 | Ranasinghe, OliverAir Chief Marshal Oliver Ranasinghe RWP, VSV, USP | 17 February 1994 | 5 March 1998 | 4 years, 16 days | No. 5 Squadron SLAF | |
| 10 | Weerakkody, JayalathAir Chief Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody RWP, VSV, USP | 6 March 1998 | 15 July 2002 | 4 years, 131 days | No. 2 Squadron SLAF No. 4 Squadron SLAF | |
| 11 | Perera, DonaldAir Chief Marshal Donald Perera VSV, USP | 16 July 2002 | 11 June 2006 | 3 years, 330 days | No. 2 Squadron SLAF | |
| 12 | Goonetileke, RoshanMarshal of the Air Force Roshan Goonetileke RWP, VSV, USP (born 1956) | 11 June 2006 | 27 February 2011 | 4 years, 261 days | No. 4 Squadron SLAF | |
| 13 | Abeywickrama, HarshaAir Chief Marshal Harsha Abeywickrama RWP, RSP, VSV, USP | 27 February 2011 | 27 February 2014 | 3 years, 0 days | No. 5 Squadron SLAF | |
| 14 | Gunathilake, KolithaAir Chief Marshal Kolitha Gunathilake RWP, RSP, VSV, USP | 27 February 2014 | 15 June 2015 | 1 year, 108 days | No. 2 Squadron SLAF | |
| 15 | Bulathsinghala, GaganAir Chief Marshal Gagan Bulathsinghala RWP, RSP, USP, VSV (born 1961) | 15 June 2015 | 12 September 2016 | 1 year, 89 days | No. 4 Squadron SLAF | |
| 16 | Jayampathy, KapilaAir Chief Marshal Kapila Jayampathy WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP | 13 September 2016 | 29 May 2019 | 2 years, 258 days | No. 4 Squadron SLAF | |
| 17 | Dias, SumangalaAir Chief Marshal Sumangala Dias RSP | 30 May 2019 | 2 November 2020 | 1 year, 156 days | No. 6 Squadron SLAF | |
| 18 | PATHIRANA, SudarshanaAir Chief Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP | 2 November 2020 | 29 June 2023 | 2 years, 239 days | No. 5 Squadron SLAF No. 10 Squadron SLAF | – |
| 19 | Rajapaksa, UdeniAir Chief Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa RWP, VSV, USP | 30 June 2023 | 28 January 2025 | 1 year, 242 days | No. 2 Squadron SLAF No. 8 Squadron SLAF |
| 20 | Edirisinghe, BanduAir Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe RWP, VSV, USP | 29 January 2025 | incumbent | 29 days | No. 2 Squadron SLAF No. 8 Squadron SLAF | – |