SLAF Enhances Training Capability with US EDA TH-57 Sea Rangers

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) has inducted 10 Bell 206 TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopters received from the USA under the Excess Defence Articles (EDA) programme, adding to its rotary-wing training capability.

The helicopters were inducted into service at SLAF Base Ratmalana. In addition to pilot training, they will support disaster relief and search and rescue missions.

The helicopters were donated free of cost to Sri Lanka in early January 2026 by the USA under the EDA programme. They were formally transferred to the SLAF by the U.S. Navy in February 2026. All ten helicopters arrived in Sri Lanka at the beginning of June.

The helicopters were previously operated by the U.S. Navy for pilot training as well as photo, chase, and utility missions, remaining in service until 2025.

The TH-57 Sea Ranger is a military variant of the commercial Bell Jet Ranger 206 and entered U.S. Navy service in 1968. The type provided advanced instrument flight rules (IFR) training to several hundred aviation students a year at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Florida.

The TH-57 Sea Ranger has been replaced in U.S. Navy service by the TH-73 Thrasher, a U.S. derivative of Leonardo's AW119.