Residents of Thabaung Township in Ayeyarwady Region told DVB that military personnel are receiving air support from piloted motorized paragliders against the Arakan Army (AA), and allied resistance forces, near the Kinponchin Mountain, where fighting has taken place. Thabaung is located 28 miles (45 km) north of the regional capital Pathein.
“We saw [regime] troops shooting from paragliders in the sky,” a Thabaung resident told DVB. The regime in Naypyidaw has reportedly begun utilizing military piloted paragliders – typically in teams of three – in attacks on Mandalay, Magway, Sagaing, Bago and Ayeyarwaddy regions.
“Motorized paragliders offer notable advantages in terms of low-cost production, mobility, simplicity of operation, extended flight time, and a heavy payload weight of 15 kg or considerably more depending on wing size. Paragliders also effectively circumvent counter-drone jamming technology,” wrote Anthony Davis, a security analyst and consultant, for the Jane’s Defence Weekly.
He added in his report for Jane’s that there have been around 25 recorded attacks since the beginning of the year. The AA reportedly shot down two military piloted paragliders near the regime’s Nyaungkyo outpost in Pandaung Township of Bago Region on Feb. 24. Pandaung is located 188 miles (302 km) northwest of the regional capital Bago.
The AA has expanded its Arakan offensive to neighbouring Ayeyarwady, Bago and Magway regions since December. It has seized 14 out of 17 Arakan townships, as well as Paletwa Township in southern Chinland. The regime controls the Arakan State capital Sittwe, the vital port town of Kyaukphyu, and the island of Manaung.
