On Thursday (April 8), Jane’s Information Group, a global open-source defense intelligence agency, released a report revealing that the Burmese military is using Chinese Communist drones to monitor protests in Burma and support its counter-protest operations.
According to the report, “Images circulated on social media in March of this year showed that the Burmese government military had begun using its UAVs to monitor protests in central Burma. At least two drones were recorded flying low enough to be ‘visible and audible’ to residents of Mandalay city.”
The report notes that the images include a Rainbow-3 drone (CH-3A), which was developed by the Communist Party’s state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
According to public information, the drone has a maximum range of 2,400 kilometers and a cruising time of 12 hours, during which no refueling is required. The aircraft is equipped with camera and photographic devices and can be used as a reconnaissance aircraft.
The report also said that about 10 to 12 Rainbow-3 drones are believed to have been delivered to Myanmar between 2013-2015, and that the aircraft are mainly used for intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance to support their military operations against ethnic armed groups in Myanmar.
The report states that military drones such as the Rainbow-3 can help the military with planning and decision-making, and that “drones over Mandalay are likely to be used to observe ground activity, allowing the military to visually monitor the situation in real time, identify specific threats, and directly command security forces as needed.”
The report also mentioned that the deployment of drones may be a psychological warfare tactic “aimed at intimidating the population” in addition to gathering intelligence.
Civilian protests against the junta’s seizure of power have continued since the Feb. 1 coup by the Burmese military, but have been violently suppressed by security forces. As of April 8, some 614 people, including dozens of children, had been killed in the violent crackdown by the military, according to the independent nonprofit Aid Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
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