Sri Lanka Artillery The Sri Lanka Artillery ( SLA ) is a corps of the Sri Lanka Army . It is made up of 12 regular regiments and 2 volunteer ( reserve ) regiments . The SLA is headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment , Panagoda . History . The roots of the Sri Lanka Artillery goes back to 1888 , when on 12 April 1888 the Ceylon Artillery Volunteers was formed as a gun battery under the command of Capt . C . E . H Seimans of the Royal Artillery . During World War I the Ceylon Artillery Volunteers were mobilised , along with the Town Guard Artillery of Colombo for the defence of Colombo . In 1918 the Ceylon Garrison Artillery was formed by amalgamating the Ceylon Artillery Volunteers and Town Guard Artillery , coming under the Ceylon Defence Force . During the colonial period the main responsibility of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery was the coastal defence of Ceylon , by manning Coastal artillery batteries . During World War II the CGA was deployed overseas to support the Allied and Commonwealth forces in the Indian Ocean , as well as defending Ceylon . Equipped with 6 inch Gun s the CGA was deployed in defence of the Seychelles and the Cocos Islands . Within Ceylon expanded in size , with the 1st Coast Regiment raising in strength of one field and four coast batteries , the formation the 2nd Heavy Anti - Aircraft Regiment , headquartered in Trincomalee and the 3rd Searchlight / Light Anti - Aircraft Regiment based in Colombo and defended Colombo and Trincomalee during the air attacks that result in the Indian Ocean raid by the Imperial Japanese Navy . In 1949 the CGA became the Ceylon Artillery with the formation of the Ceylon Army under the Army Act of 1949 . That year the 1st Heavy Anti - Aircraft Regiment ( HAA ) of the Ceylon Artillery was formed under the command of Lt . Col . ( later Colonel ) F . C . de Saram , OBE . In 1953 it was renamed the 1st Light Anti - Aircraft Regiment ( LAA ) . In the same year the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment was formed . The 2nd Volunteer Coastal Artillery / Anti - Aircraft Regiment was formed in 1949 , under the command of Lt . Col . J . A . T . Perera , ED . It was made up of officers and men of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery . In 1962 , when many officers of the CA , including Colonel De Saram were frond associated with the attempted military coup the government began rapid reduction of the CA . As a result in 1962 2nd Volunteer Regiment was disbanded and coastal artillery batteries decommissioned . The following year in 1963 the 1st Light Anti - Aircraft Regiment was amalgamated with 3rd Field Artillery Regiment and the 4th Regiment , Ceylon Artillery was formed , thus reducing the Ceylon Artillery to a single regiment . Years after amalgamation of the LAA , the air defence role of the Sri Lankan military was taken over by the Sri Lanka Air Force Regiment which it carries out to this day . The CA was renamed in 1972 as the Sri Lanka Artillery when Ceylon became a republic . Only in 1980 was a new volunteer regiment , the 5th ( V ) Artillery Regiment was formed . At present the Sri Lanka Artillery has 12 regular regiments , 2 volunteer regiments and a regimental band . These units form the Artillery Brigade . Since the start of the Sri Lankan civil war in the 1980s , the SLA has provided fire support for almost all military operations carried out by the Sri Lanka Army against terrorist forces . It also performs a target acquisition role to locate enemy guns . At times the SLA has deployed 4 regular ( RFT ) and 2 volunteer regiments in an infantry role to meet the shortage of infantry . Equipment . During the colonial period the Ceylon Garrison Artillery personnel manned British Coastal artillery batteries . After independence and establishment Artillery Regiment , the corps depended on its World War II - era British BL 6 inch coastal guns , 40 mm anti - aircraft guns , 3 . 7 inch heavy anti - aircraft guns and 4 . 2 - inch heavy mortars . Later British Ordnance QF 25 pounder Mark III field guns and 76 mm mountain guns were introduced . New sources of weaponry in the 1990s and 2000s included China and the Czech Republic . With the escalation of the Sri Lankan civil war 120 mm , 152 mm , 130 mm howitzers and 120 mm , 82 mm mortars were introduced , and in 2000 RM - 70 Multiple rocket launcher s were added , increasing SLA ’ s firepower . Target acquisition systems are also operated by the corps to locate enemy guns . The air defence role has now been completely taken over by the Sri Lanka Air Force Regiment . Multiple rocket launchers Artillery Artillery ( Ceremonial ) Heavy and Towed mortars See also . Sri Lanka Army