Myanmar military junta using European technology for drone attacks, report says

Junta obtained ‘anti-jamming’ product made in Europe through a Chinese company, research finds, triggering calls for tighter sanctions

Myanmar’s military is using advanced European technology to protect its drone fleet as it carries out brutal aerial campaigns, research suggests, prompting calls for sanctions against the junta to be tightened.

Myanmar’s military, which has been widely condemned for its indiscriminate attacks against civilians, obtained “anti-jamming” technology made in Europe through a Chinese company, according to a report by Conflict Armament Research (Car).

Its researchers documented downed military drones in Kayah state in the country’s east which had been fitted with advanced navigation modules that protect the drones from jamming and signal spoofing. It had also seen evidence of similar technology used in Chin state, near the country’s western border.

There had been efforts to weaponise these unmanned aerial vehicles by fitting release mechanisms under the frame, Car said.