 Six K-8 Karakorum trainers were soon bought from China, creating No.14 Squadron to train pilots for the newly expanded fleet of jets.On 24 July 2001, thirteen aircraft including two Kfir jet fighters, one Mi-24 helicopter gunship and one MiG-27 jet fighter, were destroyed in the pre-dawn attack by the LTTE on SLAF Katunayake air base, part of Bandaranaike International Airport about 35 km north of Colombo.