The People’s Defence Force (PDF) told DVB on Sunday that regime airstrikes carried out by Unmmaned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), and its deployment of “suicide drones,” have forced resistance groups to abandon an undisclosed number of military outposts it had seized in Moebye town of Pekon Township, southern Shan State.
“The military is escalating its offensive. Before, they used attack drones, but now they are using suicide drones,” said a PDF spokesperson in Moebye, located 100 miles (160 km) south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi and 11 miles (17 km) north of the Karenni State capital Loikaw. Pekon, located 25 miles (40 km) from Loikaw, is home to the Military Operations Command (MOC) headquarters 2 and 7.
A “suicide drone” is a UAV designed to carry explosives or other payloads and deliberately crash into a target, which will make it detonate upon impact.
“[The suicide drone] has the same configuration as a Chinese drone called the Sunflower 200 which itself is a copy of the Iranian Shahid 136 used across Ukraine [by Russia] over the last two years [of war],” Anthony Davis, a security analyst and consultant writer for Jane’s Defence Weekly, told DVB.
Southern Shan and Karenni-based resistance groups took control of several military outposts and Moebye after it launched an offensive against regime forces called Operation 1111 on Nov. 11, 2023.
The regime launched a counteroffensive to retake control of Moebye on Nov. 14. Since then, five civilians have been killed and 11 have been injured by air, drone and artillery strikes carried out on Moebye and Pekon in southern Shan, as well as Loikaw and Demoso in Karenni, according to statement by the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) on March 4.
Both sides have suffered “heavy casualties” in fighting between resistance and regime forces, according to the PDF. It added that medical supplies and military equipment were urgently needed.
In 2024, the regime in Naypyidaw established a directorate specialized in drone warfare under its Ministry of Defence. It began deploying domestically manufactured drones to 12 of its 14 Regional Military Command (RMC) headquarters.
The Arakan Army (AA) seized the Western RMC in Ann Township of Arakan State on Dec. 20, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) captured the Northeastern RMC in Lashio Township of northern Shan State on Aug. 3.
The KNDF and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Karenni and Kachin states have confirmed the use of suicide drones in attacks carried out by regime forces. Kyaukphyu and Sittwe township residents in Arakan State have reported drone strikes on the frontline and in civilian areas.
