While the military’s gains remain limited, experts warn that the deployment of infrared and night-vision-equipped drones has raised the cost of the rebellion, as foreign-made technology bolsters a regime once seen as losing ground on multiple fronts.
Sources on the ground say these foreign-made drones have given the junta a tactical edge in its operations against rebel groups in recent weeks.
Although drones were initially used mainly by the armed opposition, pro-junta Telegram channels have recently shared video footage of military drone strikes targeting rebel positions in Bhamo township, Kachin state.
Radio Free Asia reported in March that the attacks involved drones fitted with either infrared or thermal night vision cameras, resulting in casualties.
Citing officials from the Kachin Independence Army and a local civilian defence unit, the US-funded media outlet’s Burmese-language service said the Myanmar military’s use of these drones in combat had a devastating impact.
“Make no mistake – these advanced drones have gotten more rebels and innocent people killed in villages across the countryside,” said Htwe Htwe Thein, an associate professor of international business at Australia’s Curtin University whose research specialities include Myanmar.
