Myanmar Junta Leans on Air Power Amid Mounting Ground Defeats

[geovalin]

CINCDS

 

YANGON, 15 May 2025 — As battlefield losses mount, Myanmar’s military junta is increasingly turning to its air force to maintain control, launching strikes that have devastated civilian areas and underpinned a campaign of fear from the skies.

 

Following the 2021 coup, the military initially held back from using air strikes, believing ground troops could swiftly quash resistance. But as ambushes and retreat became routine, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing gradually loosened control over the air force—transforming it into the regime’s most lethal and unrestrained tool.

 

At first, air support was tightly restricted. Regional commanders had to submit requests through a convoluted chain of command, often stalling under Min Aung Hlaing’s personal delays—particularly during religious ceremonies. Even urgent appeals, like one from Vice Senior General Soe Win, were left hanging as bases fell in the interim.

 

Eventually, decentralisation gave regional commanders authority to call in air strikes directly. Now, battlefield officers can request immediate aerial support, while major bombing campaigns require approval from the elite Joint Operations Command (JOC), led by Soe Win and top military brass.

 

The junta’s warplanes, including Yak-130s and Chinese-made JF-17s, now routinely pound towns in Rakhine, Kachin and northern Shan. In Sagaing, air raids resumed after resistance fighters took Indaw town. Even modified transport planes and paramotors are being used—dropping bombs by hand when purpose-built aircraft are in short supply.

 

Despite international sanctions, Russia and China continue to supply arms and aircraft, helping the regime maintain its air capabilities. Bombs are domestically produced at Ka Pa Sa factories, with major air operations launched from bases across the country, including Naypyitaw and Meiktila.

 

What began as a last resort has become the junta’s primary strategy: deny ground, inflict terror, and shift blame. As Myanmar’s skies grow deadlier, the human cost continues to rise—especially for civilians caught in the line of fire.

 

-2025-05-15