A delta-winged unidirectional attack unmanned aerial vehicle deployed in Kayin State in eastern Myanmar. (Burma Ranger is free)
Myanmar’s military’s Drone Warfare Directorate has begun deploying new domestically manufactured unidirectional unmanned combat aircraft (UCAVs) to regional command centers that are expected to be rolled out nationwide.
A “suicide” UCAV with a distinctive delta-wing configuration, first seen in video footage of rebel groups in western Rakhine State in December 2024, was deployed to Kayin State in the country’s east in January 2025. It was confirmed that
Images provided to Jane’s by Free Burma Rangers (FBR), a Christian volunteer medical service, reveal details of new ammunition after the January 16, 2025 attack on a school in Tagaylan village, Bilin district, Kayin state . Two UCAVs were used in the attack. The incident damaged a school in an area where the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) rebel group operates, but there were no casualties.
Although there are similarities to Iran’s Shahed-136 delta-wing suicide drone and China’s Sunflower-200, a copy of the Iranian platform, Myanmar’s UCAV is significantly smaller and of more basic design and construction. .
The wingspan is approximately 1.5 to 1.7 m, and the body length is 2.1 to 2.5 m. In contrast, Sunflower-200 has a wingspan of 2.5 meters and a body length of 3.2 meters.
Payloads carried by Myanmar drones are also much smaller. Post-attack images provided by the FBR showed a large hole left in the roof of the one-story school by one of the UCAVs, but the walls of the rooms below remained largely intact. Ta.
This suggests a payload of approximately 5 kg. This is considered slightly larger than an 81 mm mortar bomb, which typically weighs 4.2 kg. In contrast, the Sunflower 200 carries a 40 kg warhead and has a payload roughly comparable to the Shahed 136.
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