Conflict archive

Myanmar Civil War Weapons and Equipment

Ongoing post-coup conflict centered on the junta, resistance forces, and allied ethnic armed organizations.

Myanmar's civil war escalated after the military seized power on 1 February 2021, triggering armed resistance by newly formed People's Defense Forces and a wider alignment of some ethnic armed organizations against the State Administration Council.

This archive is reserved for weapons and equipment documented in Myanmar's post-coup conflict, including systems used by the State Administration Council and by resistance and ethnic armed groups.

Entries should focus on direct, source-backed battlefield use, transfer, or fielding claims rather than broad historical service history.

15 weapon systems

Context

Status: Published archive
Domains: land, air, UAV, air defense

The archive will likely center on ground attack aircraft, trainers adapted for strike use, UAVs, air defense, armored vehicles, and weapons transferred into a fragmented conflict environment. Source quality is uneven, so later weapon entries should distinguish direct battlefield use from general supply or possession claims.

Yak-130 advanced jet trainer, Advanced jet trainer / light attack aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsYak-130 advanced jet trainerAdvanced jet trainer / light attack aircraftSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Light attack sorties and airstrikesBuilt: Yakovlev / United Aircraft Corporation / RussiaThe Yak-130 is a Russian twin-engine advanced jet trainer with a documented light-attack role; Myanmar's military has used it for airstrikes in the civil war.

Mi-24/Mi-35, Attack helicopter and armed assault transport, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsMi-24/Mi-35Attack helicopter and armed assault transportSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Attack helicopter strikes on villages and schoolsBuilt: Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant / Rostvertol / Soviet Union / RussiaThe Mi-24/Mi-35 Hind family combines an armored attack helicopter with limited troop-carrying capacity, giving operators a platform for close air support, anti-armor fires, and armed escort. In the Myanmar Civil War, reporting has tied Mi-35P helicopters to junta air attacks on civilians and schools, while Mi-24V/Mi-35 airframes have also been documented in the Russia-Ukraine War.

Chinese commercial UAVs, Commercial quadcopter UAV, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsChinese commercial UAVsCommercial quadcopter UAVSide: State Administration Council and allied forces / People's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Modified short-range reconnaissance and grenade-drop strike UAVsBuilt: Various Chinese commercial drone manufacturers / ChinaChinese commercial UAVs are civilian quadcopter and multirotor drones from Chinese manufacturers such as DJI and Autel that have been adapted for wartime reconnaissance and strike missions. In the Myanmar Civil War, Reuters and ACLED reported that both the junta and resistance forces used Chinese-made commercial drones, with the junta procuring and modifying them for armed attacks.

DJI commercial UAVs, Commercial UAV family, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsDJI commercial UAVsCommercial UAV familySide: State Administration Council and allied forces / People's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Commercial drone reconnaissance and improvised strikeBuilt: DJI / ChinaDJI commercial UAVs are Chinese off-the-shelf drones sold for civilian, professional, and enterprise use, but in Myanmar they became a contested battlefield tool for both the junta and anti-junta forces. The catalog entry covers DJI-branded commercial UAVs used for reconnaissance and improvised strike tasks rather than a single model family.

CH-3A unmanned combat aerial vehicle, Fixed-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsCH-3A unmanned combat aerial vehicleFixed-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicleSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Battlefield surveillance and protest monitoringBuilt: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation / China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics / ChinaThe CH-3A is a Chinese fixed-wing armed UAV in the CASC Rainbow family, combining electro-optical reconnaissance with small precision munitions. Nigerian Air Force CH-3A aircraft are directly documented in the Boko Haram Insurgency as part of Operation Lafiya Dole, where they supported surveillance and strike missions against Boko Haram and ISWAP targets in the northeast.

Gyrocopters, Gyroplane / autogyro, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsGyrocoptersGyroplane / autogyroSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Low-altitude bomb delivery platformBuilt: Various manufacturers / InternationalGyrocopters are light rotary-wing aircraft that use an unpowered autorotating rotor and a propeller for thrust; in Myanmar's civil war, the junta has used them in low-altitude bombing attacks.

Improvised drones, Improvised military drone, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsImprovised dronesImprovised military droneSide: State Administration Council and allied forces / People's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Improvised attack and reconnaissance dronesBuilt: Resistance workshops, military units, and local fabricators / MyanmarImprovised drones in the Myanmar Civil War are locally modified or field-assembled uncrewed aerial systems built from commercial components and open-source know-how. Open-source reporting shows resistance groups converting civilian drones into attack drones for reconnaissance, checkpoint strikes, convoy attacks, and kamikaze missions, while the military later expanded its own drone efforts and adapted similar systems for battlefield use.

FTC-2000G light combat aircraft, Light combat aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsFTC-2000G light combat aircraftLight combat aircraftSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Strike aircraft used for air raidsBuilt: Guizhou Aviation Industry Corporation / ChinaThe FTC-2000G is China's export light combat aircraft derived from the JL-9 trainer, and Myanmar's air force has used it for strike operations in the civil war.

Mi-8/Mi-17, Medium twin-turbine utility transport helicopter, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsMi-8/Mi-17Medium twin-turbine utility transport helicopterSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Airstrike helicopterBuilt: Kazan Helicopters / Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant / RussiaThe Mi-8/Mi-17 is a Soviet-designed medium utility helicopter family used for troop lift, cargo transport, evacuation, search-and-rescue, and armed support roles. Its large production run, 4,000 kg payload class, and widespread operator base make it one of the defining rotary-wing platforms in the Russia-Ukraine War, where Ukraine operates legacy and donor-supplied Mi-17 aircraft.

Powered paraglider/paramotor assault platform, Powered paraglider / paramotor, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsPowered paraglider/paramotor assault platformPowered paraglider / paramotorSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Low-altitude bombing platformBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countriesPowered paragliders, also called paramotors, are backpack-motor ultralights that can lift from level ground; Hamas used them for assault insertion in 2023, and Myanmar junta forces later used them for low-altitude bombing.

F-7NI fighter aircraft, Single-engine fighter and light attack aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsF-7NI fighter aircraftSingle-engine fighter and light attack aircraftSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Airstrike aircraft for battlefield attack missionsBuilt: Chengdu Aircraft Corporation / ChinaThe F-7NI is Nigeria's export variant of the Chinese Chengdu F-7/J-7, a MiG-21-derived single-engine fighter adapted for interceptor and light strike duties. Nigerian Air Force reporting and defense coverage document F-7NI aircraft in post-2015 air strikes against Boko Haram positions in Borno and the Sambisa Forest area.

K-8 Karakorum trainer aircraft, Trainer aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsK-8 Karakorum trainer aircraftTrainer aircraftSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Trainer aircraft used for light strike sortiesBuilt: Hongdu Aviation Industry Group and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex / China and PakistanThe K-8 Karakorum is a Chinese-Pakistani two-seat jet trainer that Myanmar has used as a light attack aircraft in the post-coup civil war.

Harbin Y-12 transport aircraft, Utility transport aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

Aircraft & UAVsHarbin Y-12 transport aircraftUtility transport aircraftSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Light transport and strike-support aircraftBuilt: Harbin Aircraft Industry Group / ChinaThe Harbin Y-12 is a twin-engine turboprop utility transport aircraft used by the Myanmar Air Force for transport, surveillance, and combat-related missions during the Myanmar Civil War.

S-8 rocket family, Air-to-ground rocket family, Munitions

MunitionsS-8 rocket familyAir-to-ground rocket familySide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Helicopter-borne strike rocketBuilt: Soviet defense industry / Soviet UnionThe S-8 is a Soviet-origin 80 mm family of unguided air-to-ground rockets used from attack helicopters and ground-attack aircraft, including in Myanmar's post-coup air war.

S-5 rocket, Unguided air-to-surface rocket, Munitions

MunitionsS-5 rocketUnguided air-to-surface rocketSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Helicopter-launched area attack rocketBuilt: Soviet defense industry / Soviet UnionThe S-5 is a Soviet 57 mm-class unguided aircraft rocket family used from rocket pods on helicopters and strike aircraft. In Myanmar's civil war, investigators linked S-5 remnants to the 16 September 2022 Let Yet Kone school attack.

Conflict Sources

ACLED Myanmar methodologyPublisher: ACLED | Note: Supports the 1 February 2021 coup as the conflict pivot and the emergence of many new actors and violence locations after the coup. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
IISS Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment 2023Publisher: International Institute for Strategic Studies | Note: Supports the post-coup conflict framing and the NUG's September 2021 declaration of a people's defensive war against the State Administration Council. | Accessed: 2026-06-22
Britannica Myanmar Civil WarPublisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica | Note: Supports the broader civil-war context and the escalation after the 2021 coup. | Accessed: 2026-06-22