Myanmar acquires 36 aircraft over past four years

Naypyidaw: -- The Myanmar Air Force has purchased 36 aircraft over the last four years in response to keep Myanmar on even footing with other countries in the region, reported The Irrawaddy.

Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the military commander in chief, said on Wednesday that on four occasions the Air Force has upgraded its fleet with “newly acquired, modernized aircraft over four years — 29 airplanes of four different types and seven helicopters of three different types.

The newly acquired aircraft entering service on Wednesday included Beech-1900D and Grob-120 TP airplanes, and Mi-35 and Bell-206 helicopters, according to the announcement.

Meanwhile, a report this month by research firm Research and Markets projected Myanmar’s military spending to increase by 32 percent from its 2015 level, US$2.8 billion, to $3.7 billion.

The findings of the report, titled “Future of the Myanmar Defence Industry – Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2020,” were compared with the period from 2011 to 2015, when the military’s budget allocation increased by 40 percent, from $2 billion to $2.8 billion.

“Myanmarese military expenditure will be driven by the country’s need to ensure a smooth political transition, the civil war prevailing in the country, and a dispute with Bangladesh over the control of oil and gas reserves along its maritime boundaries,” the report says.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/myanmar-acquires-36-aircraft-over-past-four-years

-- Thai PBS 2015-06-26

Sounds like the Myamis armed forces are going commercial. The Beech1900D is a 19 passenger turbo-prop commuter plane; the Grob 120 TP is a two-seat trainer and acrobatic turbo prop; and the Bell 206 is a light multi-purpose helicopter often used for EMS, Police, and News work. The only serious military aircraft is the Mi 35, which is an attack helicopter gunship, the export version of the Mi-24 Hind. Of course, it is reported they purchased two other fixed-wing and one other helicopter of unknown make.