Since late 2014, Myanmar’s military regime has deployed large numbers of drones in key front-line battlefields such as Kachin State’s Bhamo, Shan State’s Taunghkam, and the Asia Highway between Karen State’s Myawaddy and Kawkareik, inflicting heavy casualties on resistance forces and civilians.
Recently, the regime has used drones to attack areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), including its stronghold of Laiza. Further south, drone units in the junta’s garrison town of Pyin Oo Lwin have been targeting the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in Taunghkam, about two hours away.
KIA spokesperson Colonel Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy that the regime is using various types of advanced drones in the battle for Bhamo.
The regime only began deploying drones extensively after losing almost all of northern Shan State, including a regional command, to the drone-aided Operation 1027 offensive of the Brotherhood Alliance in 2023.
Junta drone units are now attached to almost all strategic hill-top bases and mobile columns, targeting both military and civilian targets.
According to Jane’s Defence Weekly, the Myanmar military’s increasingly sophisticated drone assault now features forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras for night battles in Bhamo.
While resistance leaders say the regime is using both Chinese and Russian drones, information obtained by The Irrawaddy indicates that most drones deployed by the regime are Chinese-made VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) models. The regime is also increasingly using China-made agricultural drones for reconnaissance and bombing missions.
Support from China also extends to training. Since the days of the previous State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) regime, Beijing has provided training in arms manufacturing to Myanmar military engineers and senior non-commissioned officers after they graduated from technical schools.
It also trains graduates of the Defense Services Technological Academy (DSTA) at a military academy in Kunming, Yunnan Province.
The regime purchases much of its big-ticket air weaponry from China, including FTC-2000G fighter jets shipped in 2022 and the Y-12 transport aircraft currently used for bombing missions.
Data salvaged from a drone captured from regime forces showed it was first tested and flown in Tianjin, China.
Regime soldiers began attending drone training courses in Tianjin in early 2024, according to resistance sources.
While The Irrawaddy could not independently verify whether the Chinese government is providing the training, drones used by the regime are of Chinese origin.
Tianjin is located near Beijing and is directly administered by the central government.
It houses the Army Military Transportation University, Chinese People’s Armed Police Force Command Academy, and the Tianjin Agriculture College.
Chinese UAV models being deployed by the regime include the CH4 Rainbow, CH3A and Yellow Cat, according to the commander of an ethnic armed resistance group.
A knowledgeable source told The Irrawaddy that the drone traced back to Tianjin belonged to Light Infantry Battalion 245, which is based in Kengtung, Shan State and overseen by the Triangle Region Command.
Drones purchased from China were tested at a sportsground in Kengtung on July 22, 2024, the source said.
In early 2024, the regime formed a drone unit attached to the Operations Department of the Army. Before this, its drone operators had yet to develop the skills required for unmanned bombings.
According to Myanmar military defectors Brigadier-General Nay Myo Tun, a graduate of the Military Academy’s 36th intake, was assigned to lead the new drone unit.
By mid-2024, the junta was using China-made drones on the battlefield in large numbers, both for offensive and reconnaissance purposes.
Nay Myo Tun had reportedly attended a missile technology training course provided by North Korean specialists in Pyin Oo Lwin. Myanmar reportedly began receiving ballistic missile technology from North Korea in 2008, and some two dozen Korean missile specialists remained in the country until early 2015.
Nay Myo Tun served in the Air Defense Chief’s Office. The drone unit he leads also comprises sergeants with technical backgrounds.
Previously, the military purchased drones through the Department of Defense Procurement (DOP) under the Ministry of Defense. But after the coup, drones were procured solely by the Army’s Operations Department, as the regime began using them extensively in military operations.
According to an ethnic armed organization (EAO) leader, some EAOs have formally reported the junta’s use of China-made drones in attacks to the Chinese government. The Chinese government denied selling the drones directly to the regime and suggested that they might have been purchased through an intermediary country.
