 With the increase in Tamil separatist activities in the mid-1980s, the air force stepped up its training activities, bringing in foreign pilots to assist in the helicopter training program.General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) formed in 1981 and situated in Ratmalana, fourteen kilometres south of Colombo, is Sri Lanka's only university specialising in defence studies.Each year, approximately fifty cadets from all three services are admitted to the university (aged 18–22) to participate in a three-year program of academic work and basic training.