After suffering consecutive defeats on the battlefield against resistance forces, the regime has targeted civilians in resistance-controlled areas of Myanmar with airstrikes and artillery shells, referred to as “scorched earth” tactics by Human Rights Watch in its 2025 World Report. The Directorate of Defence Industries (DDI), known in Burmese as KaPaSa, is possibly prolonging the regime’s grip on power.
“As long as the military controls the ports and transport routes connecting Yangon River to Magway and [weapons] factories, as well as Meiktila and Taungoo airbases, they can still just hold on. They won’t be able to win the war just with airstrikes. But they could clutch to the centre for quite some time,” said David Mathieson, an analyst on human rights and conflict in Myanmar.
Mathieson told DVB that while various international sanctions have been levelled against the military, only the ones that target its weapons production capabilities are effective. But he acknowledged the growing importance of targeting aviation fuel imports to the regime’s Air Force, which carries out daily airstrikes against resistance-controlled areas.
“Only about 20 out of the 25 [weapons] factories are currently operational. These facilities are mostly concentrated on the western side of the Ayeyarwady River, centered around the Pathein-Monywa Road. KaPaSa 1 and 4 have recently been relocated to Naypyidaw,” said Zin Yaw, a military defector to the anti-regime Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). The CDM is a nationwide movement founded in response to the 2021 military coup.
Besides the DDI, the regime also has central storage units for imported materials, parts and components with end items and machinery, which is commonly referred to as “the store” in Yangon.
The Defence Materials Production School is located in Pyin Oo Lwin Township of Mandalay Region, and a Training School for DDI factory workers is in Ushit Pin of Pandaung Township, Bago Region. Ushit Pin is located near several DDI factories.
“I believe 95 to 98 percent of the bombs used are locally made. While imported bombs might exist, they would only be used for critical targets under specific conditions. To my knowledge, I’ve never seen foreign bombs being used, only KaPaSa-made bombs,” Zeya, a military defector from the Mingaladon Air Base, told DVB.
Magway Region is home to 15 DDI factories. Bago Region has seven, while Tatkon Township of Naypyidaw has two, and Taikkyi Township in Yangon Region has one.
Each DDI factory focuses on specific products but are interconnected. For example, DDI 6 in Nyaung Chay Htauk village of Pandaung Township, and DDI 24, in Pauk Township of Magway Region, primarily produce iron and aluminium raw materials needed for manufacturing arms and ammunition.
Gunpowder used in bombs and artillery shells are produced by DDI 5 in Ushit Pin, which also produces acid and small quantities of gunpowder, along with DDI 13 in Sin Paung Wae of Aunglan District, Magway Region.
Small arms are mainly produced by DDI 1 in Tatkon, DDI 11 in Taikkyi, and DDI 22 Seikphyu of Pakokku District, Magway Region, with 5.5 mm, 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, and 9 mm bullets manufactured primarily by DDI 9, and partially DDI 2.
Heavy weapons and artillery parts are produced by DDI 8 in Sin Paung Wae and DDI 7 in Pyay Township of Bago Region. Grenades are manufactured by DDI 7, while DDI 10 in Upper Minhla of Thayet District, Magway Region, produces rockets for vehicle-mounted Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS).
In Magway Region, 60 mm, 81 mm, and 120 mm mortar bombs are made at DDI 12 in Thayet and DDI 15 in Aunglan, while DDI 20 in Sidoktaya produces 25-30 mm anti-aircraft cannons.
The bombs used in airstrikes that have killed nearly 3,500 civilians since the 2021 coup, as documented in the Blood Money Campaign’s report “Close the Sky,” were manufactured at DDI 3 in Sin Te of Bago Region and DDI 21 in Seikphyu of Magway Region.
Tayza, who worked for 10 years at a DDI factory, revealed that while the military relies on domestic materials for production, some are still being imported from countries friendly with the regime in Naypyidaw such as China and Russia.
The factories, built with assistance from foreign technicians and operated by graduates of the Defence Services Technological Academy (DSTA), employ soldiers and civilians from nearby villages. Each factory spans thousands of acres and employs between 500–1,000 staff members, all of which are under tight security.
“Each factory is divided into eight sectors, with outposts set up about three miles away to provide perimeter security. Given the current situation, I believe they’re armed. There’s around-the-clock security at the factory’s main gate and central checkpoints. If a conflict breaks out, they won’t defend the factory—they’ll flee,” added Tayza.