Myanmar’s Resistance Losing Drone Edge to Junta

[geovalin]

CINCDS

 

Myanmar’s armed resistance groups are losing their battlefield advantage in drone warfare, as the military regime rapidly closes the technological gap with foreign support and electronic defences, a new report warns.

 

According to a July analysis by ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project), 2025 marks a turning point in the country’s civil war. Once praised for their ingenuity in adapting commercial drones into potent battlefield tools, the resistance now faces dwindling effectiveness under increasing pressure from the junta’s expanding drone programme.

 

“The military has a lot of money compared to the resistance groups,” said report author Su Mon Thant, who explained that while rebel fighters scrape together a few drones every few months, the junta can import thousands from China and Russia in bulk.

 

Since the 2021 coup that plunged the country into civil war, drones have been central to asymmetric warfare. Tech-savvy students-turned-fighters used 3D printers, plastic scraps and online tutorials to build reconnaissance and kamikaze drones that inflicted heavy losses on the better-equipped military.

 

That creative edge proved decisive in battles like Operation 1027, which saw resistance forces drop over 20,000 bombs and deliver the junta its worst defeat of the war. But success brought attention.

 

Junta leaders responded by establishing a dedicated drone force, aided by training from China, Russia and India. They’ve added thermal imaging to their drones and deployed powerful signal jammers across frontline bases, crippling the resistance’s ability to fly their homemade craft.

 

Recent ACLED data reveals a stark shift: drone strikes by resistance groups have plummeted since early 2024, just as military drone activity surged. In January, rebels launched over 130 drone attacks; by February 2025, the military had overtaken them for the first time.

 

In Karenni State, a resistance drone commander known only as "3D" said Chinese export restrictions are making it “really, really hard” to source new components, and jammers are disrupting nearly every mission. “But we have to struggle,” he said from the front line.

 

With an estimated 80,000 dead since the coup, Myanmar’s civil war is increasingly shaped by the skies—and the resistance may now be on the back foot.

 

 

-2025-07-12