Abeywickrema joined the Sri Lanka Air Force as an
Officer cadet in the General Duties Pilot Branch in 1980. After successful completion of Flying Training he was commissioned as a
Pilot officer in 1982. In the early 1980's the Sri Lanka Air Force had only two air squadrons, a fixed wing squadron and a rotary wing squadron, its fighter aircraft had been retired. With the escalation of the
Sri Lankan Civil War, air force operations increased.
Flying officer Abeywickrema who flew transport aircraft was transferred to fly light attack turboprop aircraft
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260. He also qualified as a
Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI). In the late 1980s the Sri Lanka Air Force felt the need to reintroduce jet fighters to its fleet having retired its last jet fighters in the late 1970's. Lacking jet qualified pilots, Squadron leader Abeywickrema who had experience on light attack aircraft was selected as the first commanding officer of the
No. 5 "Jet" Squadron, when it was formed in 1991under his command following the acquisition of
F-7 and
F-5 fighters from China, it was the country's first
fighter squadron. He was one of the first pilots to qualify in
F-7s in 1991 and became the first SLAF pilot to fly supersonic. He led the first sorties over
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam controlled areas soon after they introduced
Man-portable air-defense system and the shoot-down two of two
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 killing over 100 military personnel including the SLAF Northern Zonal Commander, Wing Commander Roger Weerasinghe and Wing Commander
Shirantha Goonatilake in April 1995. He was instrumental in selecting the
IAI Kfirs for the SLAF, which he qualified in 1996. Having attended the
Air Command and Staff College,
Air University; he was appointed Commandant of the
No. 1 Flying Training Wing and went on to serve as the Commanding Officer of
Jaffna International Airport, Base Commander of
China Bay Airport,
Anuradhapura Airport and
Ratmalana Airport following which he became the Zonal Commander East and Chief Instructor of Air Wing of the
Defence Services Command and Staff College. He graduated from
Royal College of Defence Studies. In 2008, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff and promoted to the rank of
Air vice-marshal, while serving as Director Air Operations and in 2011 was given the role of Director Logistics while serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff. In February 2011, he was appointed Commander of the Air Force having been promoted to the rank of Air Marshal. In 2014 he retired from the Air Force and was promoted to the rank of Air Chief Marshal. Air Chief Marshal Abeywickrema has been awarded the gallantry medals
Rana Wickrama Padakkama and
Rana Sura Padakkama for combat bravery, the service medals
Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya,
Uththama Seva Padakkama and
Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal. ==Later work==