Myanmar Junta Deploys FPV Suicide Drones South of Myawaddy Following Frontline Losses
Myanmar's military junta has shifted tactics in Karen State, deploying FPV (First-Person View) attack drones against resistance forces south of Myawaddy following heavy infantry losses and warnings from neighboring Thailand, resistance coalition officials said Tuesday.
The shift in strategy began on November 7 during clashes around Minletpan Village and the Theahpyuchaung area.
Regime troops turned to precision FPV drones after recent artillery exchanges sent stray rounds into Thai territory, drawing sharp warnings from Bangkok and halting conventional shelling.
“Over the past few days, the junta tried to advance toward Theahpyuchaung and Minletpan, but their columns retreated after taking heavy casualties among newly conscripted troops,” a frontline Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) fighter told KIC.
“Following the retreat, they launched FPV drone strikes. We have managed to shoot down several of them.”
FPV drones are remotely piloted, single-use kamikaze UAVs with live video feeds and GPS guidance that let operators strike precise tactical targets.
While KNLA-led coalition forces have long utilized FPV technology along the Thai-Myanmar border, resistance drone units confirmed that junta forces have now begun integrating the weapon system into their own frontline operations.
To sustain the offensive, regime transport aircraft have conducted aerial resupply drops near the Kyawwarbo mountain range and Lay Kay Kaw waterfall, delivering food, ammunition, and drone equipment to isolated positions.
Convoys from the Hpa-An-based Light Infantry Division 22 (LID 22) have also been shuttling reinforcements through Myawaddy toward Infantry Battalion 275 and Thingannyinaung village, returning to the Karen State capital loaded with wounded soldiers and rotated personnel, according to resistance intelligence monitors.
