Myanmar's drone warfare directorate rolls out new UCAV

A delta-wing one-way attack UAV fielded in Karen State in eastern Myanmar. (Free Burma Rangers)

The Myanmar Armed Forces' Directorate of Drone Warfare has begun deploying a new, indigenously manufactured one-way unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) across regional commands in what appears to be a nationwiderollout.

First seen in December 2024 in insurgent video footage from western Rakhine State, the distinctive delta-wing-configured ‘suicide' UCAV has now been confirmed as deployed in January 2025 in Karen (Kayin) State in the east of the country.

Imagery made available to Janes by the Christian volunteer medical service Free Burma Rangers (FBR) revealed details of the new munition following an attack on a school in Tagaylaung village in Karen State's Bilin township on 16 January 2025. Two UCAVs were used in the attack, which damaged the school in an area where the insurgent Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) operates but failed to inflict casualties.

While bearing similarities to Iran's Shahed-136 delta-wing suicide drone and China's Sunflower-200 copy of the Iranian platform, the Myanmar UCAV is notably smaller and of more basic design and manufacture.

It has a wingspan of approximately 1.5–1.7 m and a fuselage length of 2.1–2.5 m. By contrast, the Sunflower-200 has a 2.5 m wingspan and a length of 3.2 m.

The Myanmar drone also carries a far smaller payload. Post-attack images provided by FBR showed a large hole in the single-storey school's roof caused by one of the UCAVs, but the walls of the room below had remained largely intact.

This suggests a payload of approximately 5 kg – perhaps somewhat larger than an 81 mm mortar bomb, which typically weighs 4.2 kg. By contrast, the Sunflower-200 carries a warhead of 40 kg, a payload roughly comparable with the Shahed-136.