Commander Roshan Goonetileke said Sri Lanka was looking at the 1977 Soviet vintage MiG-29 combat aircraft, refurbished in the Ukraine, to replace Sri Lanka's fleet of MiG-27 planes, as well as the Israeli-built Kfir and Chinese F-7 planes.
"We're looking at the MiG-29 because we're already flying the MiG-27," Goonetileke said, adding a transition from the 1972 vintage MiG-27 to the 1977 MiG-29 would be easier.
Sri Lanka's air force has bought 10 MiG-27 planes and one MiG-23 trainer aircraft since 2000, when Tamil Tiger guerrillas escalated attacks against government forces.
The air force currently operates four MiG-27 planes, while three have been grounded for major overhauls.
Tamil Tiger rebels destroyed more than a dozen military aircraft parked at a base adjoining the international airport in July 2001.
Among the planes destroyed was a MiG-27 swing-wing aircraft.
In August 2001, a MiG-27 crashed near the international airport while a Ukrainian pilot attempted aerobatics.