Loikaw, 9 September
Military council suffers heavy losses as a result of the revolutionary forces’ drone assaults on battalions and military outposts.
During the more than two and a half years of the coup, the revolutionary forces’ drone missions could compete with the military council’s airstrikes, making it difficult for the junta.
The recent drone attack on the General Administrative Office of Myawaddy District, Karen State, on 3 September, killed nine people, including the temporary commander of Infantry Battalion 275, Lt. Col. Aung Kyaw Min, and injured seven others.
The revolutionary forces have been able to launch drone operations on the ground, as well as battalions, military outposts, and departmental offices, posing a challenge for the military council.
According to a member of the Karenni Army (KA) drone squad, a revolutionary force in Kayah State, “drones have played an important role in cracking down on the enemies and gathering information”.
The revolutionary forces use drones that can carry three to six 60-mm mortar bombs, with each of them exerting an area of around 100 feet.
At the Seventeenth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, on 21 August, the military council’s Minister of Home Affairs, Lt. Gen. Yar Pyae, admitted that the use of unmanned drones by revolutionary forces could become a challenge in the future.
CDM Captain Htet Myat said, “It has become more difficult for the military council to control the drone missions of the revolutionary forces. The junta army also tried to protect it in various ways using drone jammers”.
The military council has installed anti-drone systems in battalions, military bases, and departmental offices to shoot down drones, but they have not yet been able to protect them effectively.
The junta chief warned in a classified report of the military council that it is vital to be cautious about the revolutionary forces’ drone missions and that it could be terrifying if security is weak.
The Ministry of Defense of the National Unity Government (NUG) announced on August 23 that it has purchased more than 400 drones with public funds and sent them to revolutionary groups from various regions and states for surveillance, combat, and propaganda.
The Federal Wings drone force, which is the main threat to the security of the military council, warned unarmed personnel, family members, and military families to leave their respective offices, outposts, and staff housing in early September.
News – Than Lwin Times
Photo: Federal Wings