Significantly in Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, previously the rebels who had depended on a dispersed fleet of modified Chinese commercial drones as they fought Myanmar military forces are seeing their own weapons being used by the ruling junta.
The use of armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by the junta in recent months has been discovered by the rebels, according to seven people with knowledge of the matter, changing how the conflict operates.
“There are now drones being used by both sides,” said Ta Yoke Gyi, 31-year-old rebel fighter from southeast region of country who gave his name as his nom de guerre.
There were occasions when this group saw examples of Burmese-made drones carrying explosive devices and attacking them. The fact that some resistance fighters were injured in these attacks means that these UAVs are becoming more proficiently employed by the regime.
According to Min Zaw Oo, an executive director at Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security think tank, thousands of Chinese commercial UAVs were procured by Junta at beginning of this year which have since then been repurposed it to carry locally made munitions. Even though there is no official statement regarding any drone use in recent times from Junta, Min Aung Hlaing recognized last year that drones had dropped over 25k bombs during major October offensive against military installations launched by rebels.
Contrary to members of resistance alleging acquisition armed CH-3 UAVs from China around 2013; multi-rotor agricultural commercial drones is what is allegedly presently in use by the Burma army. There seems therefore not to be total deployment put into use all new machines so far due to limited number of government quadcopters seen on frontlines
Analysts and rebel fighters say that as long as the civil war continues, the advantage earlier enjoyed by insurgents over others using modern warfare such as drones seems lost. An expanding attack fleet of UAVs by junta is good news for its dispirited forces that rely on draft to fill up reduced combat units. The military is projected to hold a defense position as it re-trains and re-equips, while using drones to constantly disturb enemy positions.
