Conflict catalog

2021 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 catalog 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.

30 weapon systems

Conflict Actors

State Administration Council and allied forces / People's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizations

State Administration Council and allied forces

27 weapon systems in this catalog
  • State Administration Council and allied forces

People's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizations

12 weapon systems in this catalog
  • People's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizations

Context

Status
Published catalog
Domains
land, air, UAV, air defense

The catalog 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.

Weapons

2021 Myanmar Civil War Weapon Systems

Category

Aircraft & UAVs

Crewed aircraft, drones, and loitering munitions.

8/18
Mi-24/Mi-35, Attack helicopter and armed assault transport, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & 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 a small troop compartment, letting operators use one airframe for close air support, anti-armor fires, armed escort, and limited assault transport. The Mi-35M branch is a Rostvertol-built modern combat-transport line, while older and upgraded Mi-24/Mi-35 aircraft remain documented in Ukraine, Syria, Mali, Iraq, Myanmar, and other conflicts.
Yakovlev Yak-130, Combat trainer / light attack aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsYakovlev Yak-130Combat trainer / light attack aircraftSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Light attack sorties and airstrikesBuilt: Irkut Corporation / Sokol Aviation Plant / United Aircraft Corporation / RussiaThe Yakovlev Yak-130 is a Russian two-seat combat trainer and light-attack aircraft designed by Yakovlev and built through the Irkut/Yakovlev line inside United Aircraft Corporation. Official Russian sources frame it as a training aircraft able to simulate modern fighter employment and carry up to 3,000 kg of stores, while conflict records document Myanmar ground-attack sorties and an Iranian Yak-130 shot down during the 2026 Iran War.
Chinese commercial UAVs, Commercial multirotor UAV family, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsChinese commercial UAVsCommercial multirotor UAV familySide: State Administration Council and allied forcesPeople's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Modified short-range reconnaissance and grenade-drop strike UAVsBuilt: DJI / Autel Robotics / Various Chinese commercial drone manufacturers / ChinaChinese commercial UAVs are civilian quadcopter, hexacopter, and agricultural-drone families from Chinese manufacturers such as DJI and Autel that have been adapted for wartime reconnaissance and improvised strike missions. In the 2021 Myanmar Civil War, Reuters, ACLED, Fulcrum, and other reporting document resistance forces and later junta units using Chinese-made commercial drones for observation, target spotting, and grenade or bomb drops.
DJI commercial UAVs, Commercial multirotor UAV family, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsDJI commercial UAVsCommercial multirotor UAV familySide: State Administration Council and allied forcesPeople's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Commercial drone reconnaissance and improvised strikeBuilt: DJI / ChinaDJI commercial UAVs are Chinese off-the-shelf multirotor drones sold for civilian, professional, and enterprise use, from compact Mavic-series aircraft to larger Matrice industrial platforms. In Ukraine and Myanmar they became contested battlefield tools for surveillance, targeting support, and improvised strike tasks, with this catalog entry covering DJI-branded commercial UAVs rather than a single military model.
DJI Mavic series, Commercial quadcopter UAV, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsDJI Mavic seriesCommercial quadcopter UAVSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesPeople's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Commercial quadcopter adapted for reconnaissance and strikeBuilt: DJI / ChinaThe DJI Mavic series is a family of Chinese commercial folding quadcopters that became a mass battlefield UAV in Ukraine and has also been documented in Gaza and Myanmar. Although designed for civilian and enterprise imaging, models such as the Mavic 3, Mavic 3E, and Mavic 3T have been used for short-range ISR, artillery correction, situational awareness, target acquisition, thermal observation, and improvised strike roles.
FPV drones, First-person-view small UAV / one-way attack drone, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsFPV dronesFirst-person-view small UAV / one-way attack droneSide: People's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Fiber-optic FPV strike against low-flying aircraftBuilt: Various manufacturers / VariousFPV drones are small first-person-view UAVs adapted from racing-drone and commercial quadcopter technology into tactical reconnaissance and one-way attack systems. Russia and Ukraine turned them into mass battlefield consumables, while later reporting from Lebanon, Mali, Myanmar, Syria, Sudan, and Mexico shows the same control-link, payload, and low-cost adaptation pattern spreading to state forces, insurgents, and organized armed groups.
CH-3A unmanned combat aerial vehicle, Fixed-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & 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 2009 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.
Nanchang Q-5 / A-5, Ground-attack aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsNanchang Q-5 / A-5Ground-attack aircraftSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Close air support and strikeBuilt: Nanchang Aircraft Company / ChinaThe Nanchang Q-5, exported as the A-5 Fantan, is a Chinese single-seat, twin-engine ground-attack aircraft built by Nanchang Aircraft Company from the MiG-19/J-6 lineage. Its redesign moved the intakes to the fuselage sides, emphasized low-altitude attack, and paired 23 mm cannon with bombs, rocket pods, and short-range air-to-air missiles. Export A-5 variants added customer-specific avionics and weapons fits for operators including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sudan.
10 remaining

Category

Armored Vehicles

Troop carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, and protected mobility.

1/1
BTR-3, 8x8 wheeled armored personnel carrier, Armored VehiclesArmored VehiclesBTR-38x8 wheeled armored personnel carrierSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Protected troop transport and captured armored vehicleBuilt: Kyiv Armored Plant / UkrespectExport / UkraineThe BTR-3 is a Ukrainian 8x8 armored personnel carrier family derived from the Soviet-style wheeled APC layout but built around Ukrainian production and combat modules. Documented conflict use ranges from Ukrainian, Azerbaijani, Thai, Myanmar, and Sudanese inventories, with variants providing protected infantry mobility and turret fire support from 30 mm cannon, machine-gun, grenade-launcher, and anti-tank missile fits.

Category

Artillery

Tube artillery, rocket artillery, and long-range ground fires.

1/1
155 mm Soltam M-71, 155 mm/39-caliber towed howitzer, ArtilleryArtillery155 mm Soltam M-71155 mm/39-caliber towed howitzerSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesPeople's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: UnknownBuilt: Soltam Systems / IsraelThe Soltam M-71 is an Israeli 155 mm/39-caliber towed howitzer developed from Soltam's earlier M-68 gun-howitzer line. It combines NATO-standard 155 mm ammunition, a split-trail carriage, horizontal sliding-block breech, compressed-air rammer, and high-speed towing gear; in Myanmar's post-2021 civil war, open reporting places M-71 guns in the captured artillery inventory from Operation 1027 rather than proving post-capture firing.

Category

Infantry Weapons

Portable weapons used by soldiers and small units.

4/4
Heckler & Koch G3, 7.62 mm select-fire battle rifle, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsHeckler & Koch G37.62 mm select-fire battle rifleSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesPeople's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Junta and resistance battle rifleBuilt: Heckler & Koch / Various manufacturers / Germany; licensed production in multiple countries including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Greece, Mexico, Brazil, and MyanmarThe Heckler & Koch G3 is a roller-delayed 7.62 x 51 mm NATO battle rifle developed in West Germany from the CETME rifle family. Its long service life and licensed production have left G3-pattern rifles in multiple conflict arsenals, including documented Boko Haram small-arms holdings in the Lake Chad basin, RSF-linked evidence in Sudan, Saudi-linked G3 rifles reported in Yemen, and G3/BA64 rifles still circulating in Myanmar's post-2021 war.
Smith & Wesson Victory Model revolver, Double-action revolver, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsSmith & Wesson Victory Model revolverDouble-action revolverSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Captured police sidearmBuilt: Smith & Wesson / United StatesThe Smith & Wesson Victory Model revolver was the wartime Military & Police K-frame revolver built in .38 Special for U.S. contracts and .38 S&W/.38-200 for British and Commonwealth use, with V-prefix serial numbers, parkerized finish, smooth walnut grips, and lanyard fittings distinguishing it from standard commercial Model 10 production.
Rifle grenades, Rifle-launched grenade family, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsRifle grenadesRifle-launched grenade familySide: People's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Drone-dropped resistance munitionBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countriesRifle grenades are a broad family of grenades projected from service rifles by rod, cup, spigot, muzzle-device, bullet-trap, or shoot-through launch methods. World War I examples extended infantry grenade reach with explosive, smoke, signal, message, and emerging anti-tank payloads, while postwar HEAT designs such as the British No. 94 Energa and U.S. M31 used shaped charges for short-range anti-armor fire. The cataloged conflict record spans rifle-launched use, recovered ammunition, and modern reuse of rifle-grenade munitions as drone payloads in Myanmar and Ukraine.
Webley Mk IV revolver, Service revolver, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsWebley Mk IV revolverService revolverSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Police sidearmBuilt: Webley & Scott / United KingdomThe Webley Mk IV name covers two closely related British top-break revolver lines: the 1899 .455 pattern associated with the South African War and the later .38/200 revolver that Webley & Scott built for service and police users. The .38/200 model was bought in large numbers by Britain's Ministry of Supply from 1940 and remained visible in Myanmar police stocks when an example was captured from police in Monywa in 2021.

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

6/6
Mortar bombs, 60mm, 60 mm mortar ammunition, MunitionsMunitionsMortar bombs, 60mm60 mm mortar ammunitionSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesPeople's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Mortar fire and adapted aerial-drop munitionBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countries60 mm mortar bombs are fin-stabilized light mortar rounds made in high-explosive, smoke, illumination, infrared-illumination, and training variants for portable 60 mm mortar tubes. This entry treats the caliber as a family rather than a single national model: Boko Haram/ISWAP evidence is based on recovered rounds and IED adaptation, Myanmar evidence includes both fired and air-dropped mortar rounds, and Ukrainian evidence covers 60 mm mortar shells integrated into FPV strike drones.
Mortar bombs, 81mm, 81 mm mortar bomb, MunitionsMunitionsMortar bombs, 81mm81 mm mortar bombSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesPeople's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Mortar fire and improvised aerial-drop munitionBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countries81 mm mortar bombs are fin-stabilized ammunition families made by many arsenals and defense manufacturers for medium mortars, with high-explosive, smoke, illumination, infrared-illumination, and training variants. Documented conflict use in this catalog includes Boko Haram improvised explosive devices made from captured mortar bombs, U.S. transfers of 81 mm mortar rounds to Ukraine, and Myanmar Civil War reporting of both SAC mortar fire and resistance drone drops.
M9 rifle grenade, HEAT anti-tank rifle grenade, MunitionsMunitionsM9 rifle grenadeHEAT anti-tank rifle grenadeSide: People's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsRole: Improvised drone-dropped rifle grenadeBuilt: Various U.S. manufacturers / United StatesThe M9 rifle grenade is a U.S. World War II HEAT anti-tank rifle-grenade family designed for launch from rifle or carbine grenade launchers with special blank cartridges. Its catalog relevance now also comes from Myanmar reporting: resistance forces in the 2021 Myanmar Civil War have been reported dropping M9 rifle grenades, primed M9s, and M9-derived Inaga munitions from commercial UAVs against junta positions.
Mortar shell, Mortar projectile, MunitionsMunitionsMortar shellMortar projectileSide: People's Defense Forces and ethnic armed organizationsState Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Drone and light-aircraft drop munitionBuilt: Not publicly identified / Not publicly identifiedMortar shell is an unidentified mortar projectile documented as an improvised aerial payload in the 2021 Myanmar Civil War. Fulcrum reported a People's Defense Force hexacopter dropping mortar shells on junta troops, and AP and Guardian reporting later described Myanmar junta paramotors and gyrocopters using mortar shells as hand-dropped bombs. Public reporting does not identify the exact caliber, maker, fuze, or model for these Myanmar examples.
Air-to-ground rocket, Unguided aerial rocket class, MunitionsMunitionsAir-to-ground rocketUnguided aerial rocket classSide: State Administration Council and allied forcesRole: Helicopter-launched area attack rocketBuilt: Various manufacturers / VariousAir-to-ground rockets are unguided aircraft rockets fired from underwing blocks, launch rails, or multi-tube pods by helicopters and fixed-wing attack aircraft. Representative families include Soviet 57 mm S-5 rockets, Soviet-origin 80 mm S-8 rockets, and U.S. 2.75-inch/70 mm Hydra-70 rockets, with conflict rows limited to sources that directly identify a specific representative family in use or transfer.

News

Latest 2021 Myanmar Civil War News

All news

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 2021 Myanmar Civil WarPublisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica | Note: Supports the broader civil-war context and the escalation after the 2021 coup. | Accessed: 2026-06-22