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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mi-17 Appears To Have Been Downed By FPV Drone In Myanmar
A tactic developed by Ukraine to attack helicopters with small drones has apparently found its way to the jungles of the war-torn nation of Myanmar. Rebels fighting Myanmar's junta say they used a first-person view (FPV) drone to down an Mi-17 Hip transport helicopter attempting to land with supplies. The government, however, claims the helicopter crashed due to mechanical failure. Regardless, the claimed attack is nothing out of the realm of possibility. There are rapidly evolving threats to helicopters in combat zones, including from lower-end drones, raising concerns about degradation in their utility on future battlefields. Video emerged on social media showing the video feed of what purports to be an FPV drone operated by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) careening toward the helicopter, which was hovering just a few feet off the ground at the time. The video cuts off as the FPV drone gets right next to the helicopter's rotor blades. The video then shows a different angle of what appears to be a small explosion amongst the Mi-17's rotors. The helicopter reportedly later crashed a short distance away, killing everyone on board. Rekaman Video Amatir dan dari Drone FPV milik kelompok Pemberontak Etnis Kachin Myanmar ( Kachin Independence Army ) saat menghantam satu dari 3 Helikopter Mil-17 Angkatan Udara Myanmar yang tengah mendrop Pasukan di kawasan Bhamo pada tanggal 20 Mei lalu. — Golden Eagle (@Y_D_Y_P) May 22, 2025 Video of Myanmar resistance fighters hitting and ultimately destroying a junta Mi-17 with an FPV drone. — Woofers (@NotWoofers) May 22, 2025 While similar to videos have emerged from Ukraine, the Hip variant and color scheme of the aircraft is different than what the Russians use. 'KIA troops bombed the helicopter on a football pitch near Infantry Battalion 56's headquarters in Shwegu town,' KIA spokesman Colonel Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy, an independent publication run by exiled Myanmar journalists living in Thailand. 'He said it also bombed the grounded helicopter with drones.' On Tuesday, 'the colonel said two of three helicopters sending reinforcements and supplies to the junta's embattled 21st Military Operation Command (MOC) headquarters in Bhamo were hit by rockets and drones while dropping supplies and airlifting troops,' The Irrawaddy reported. The War Zone cannot independently verify the KIA claims, however, the fact that the helicopter crashed is not in dispute. The Kachin Independence Army says it destroyed two of three helicopters trying to resupply troops in the strategically important Kachin city of Bhamo.#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar#WarAgainstTheJuntaMyanmarhttps:// — The Irrawaddy (Eng) (@IrrawaddyNews) May 22, 2025 The military government's version of the events, which claimed that the helicopter crashed due to a 'technical fault' was 'first broadcast on state television Tuesday night, hours after independent online news outlets reported that a powerful ethnic Kachin armed group and allied pro-democracy fighters had shot down one of three army helicopters,' The Associated Press reported. It happened 'shortly after some army transport helicopters delivered what was described as administrative supplies for soldiers at frontline posts in Kachin's Bhamo township, about 280 kilometers (175 miles) northeast of Mandalay, the country's second-largest city,' according to the AP. Shwegu, where the helicopter crashed, is a town in Myanmar's north, about 50 miles west of the border with China. Myanmar's military, which came to power in February 2021 after seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, has been battling pro-democracy resistance forces loosely allied with armed ethnic minority groups seeking greater autonomy, the wire service explained. KIA 'is one of the stronger ethnic armed groups, capable of manufacturing some of their own weapons, and whose fighters are battle-hardened from years of resistance,' according to AP. 'The Kachin group is on good terms with the armed militias of the pro-democracy movement, known as the People's Defense Force, that was formed to fight military rule after the 2021 army takeover. The two forces have fought side by side against the army not only in Kachin, but also in the nearby Sagaing region.' The government's once formidible armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, 'have suffered a series of unprecedented defeats since 2024, especially in areas to the east near the Chinese border and in the western state of Rakhine, after an alliance of three powerful militias launched a coordinated offensive on Oct. 27, 2023,' AP explained. The Mi-17 loss came amid a KIA offensive push toward Bhamo, Kachin state's second largest city, that was launched in December. Though much of Bhamo has been seized by the KIA and its allies, 'the MOC 21 headquarters is holding out because of junta air support,' The Irrawaddy reported. Myanmar's military 'has lost at least five helicopters and three tactical combat jets since it seized power,' AP noted. 'Resistance forces have several times claimed to have downed military aircraft but their claims could not be confirmed.' Most combat aircraft in Myanmar's military come from China or Russia, which also supply other armaments. Many Western nations maintain an arms embargo and other sanctions against the ruling military. As we noted earlier in this story, the claimed attack on the government helicopter mirrors a tactic developed by Ukraine. The first indications of this came in July 2024, when a Russian Mi-8AMTSh Hip helicopter was lost near Donetsk City. Russian sources report it was downed by a Ukrainian one-way attack drone. You can see the aftermath of that incident in the following video. This morning, a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter crashed near Donetsk City. Russian sources report it was downed by a Ukrainian FPV drone. Seen here, the wreckage burns in an open field. — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) July 31, 2024 More recently, operators of the Bombus Balista unit from the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine claimed last week that they hit a Russian Ka-52 'Alligator' combat helicopter using an FPV drone. That incident was captured on video, which you can see below. Ukraine published footage today of an FPV drone hitting a Russian attack Ka-52 was reportedly on a combat patrol, but was shot down by a group of Bombus tactical strike UAVs. — Tim White (@TWMCLtd) May 16, 2025 The war in Ukraine, in particular, has highlighted the growing vulnerability of helicopters. In the ensuing months after launching its all-out invasion, Russia lost many of its Ka-52s, as we previously noted, as well as other helicopters. At the time, Ukraine was using man-portable air defenses (MANPADS), and, to a lesser extent anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) to attack Russian rotary wing aviation. Helicopters are especially vulnerable when executing terminal operations (landing or taking off) or are slowly moving around at low altitudes. To date, Russia has lost at least 122 helicopters of all variants, according to the Oryx open-source tracking group. That includes at least 42. Hip-8 transports and 64 Ka-52 alligators. Those figures could be higher because Oryx only tabulates losses for which it has visual confirmation. Helicopter vulnerability to these weapons did not begin in Ukraine. Anti-tank missiles, in general, proved a particularly effective tool for under-resourced forces when engaging superior militaries. Prior to the fall of the Assad regime, the conflict in Syria also underlined ATGM's secondary anti-helicopter capabilities. In that war, insurgent-rebel groups, such as 'Sham Legion,' used ATGM capabilities when targeting Syrian military helicopters when they were most vulnerable on the ground or while landing or taking off. The following video shows one such engagement. Beyond traditional ground-based air defenses, which are becoming far more capable and deeply integrated/networked at an accelerating rate, helicopters have to now contend with FPV drones and loitering SAMs, as well as loitering interceptor drones, that can be used against rotary wing aircraft, as well. Countermeasures to some of these threats really have not caught up. The threat posed by drones, in general, has also vastly reinvigorated proliferation of short-range air defenses for counter-UAS needs, but many of these systems can also engage helicopters. Then there is the aerial threat, with fighter and support aircraft becoming more capable of spotting low and slow flying helicopters thanks to advanced sensors. The distances involved with future wars alone could relegate even the most advanced traditional helicopters into support roles. All this creates an increasingly complex and unpredictable operational reality for military helicopters, even in low-to-medium threat environments. The proliferation of lower-end weaponized drones spurred by knowledge gained on and disseminated from battlefields around the world is only accelerating the threat posed by these accessible technologies, including to helicopters. Case in point is how criminal actors, like Mexican cartels, are now employing weaponized drones with regularity. This will only continue to grow, which puts at risk many targets virtually anywhere, but especially on the battlefield. Point defense of key locations using FPV drones against helicopters are of extreme concern, especially for units tasked with going after high-priority and well armed targets, like the U.S. special operations community. Hard to procure shoulder-fired missiles used to be the best way for small units to counter and incoming helicopter assault, but now FPV drones can race forward to take out helicopters as they approach or are over there target. And they can do it at a fraction of the cost and hassle. There is no defense for this aside from electronic warfare, and fiber optic-linked FPVs eliminate this vulnerability entirely. With all this in mind, what we just saw in Myanmar is only a taste of what's likely to come. Contact the author: howard@
The Independent
02-04-2025
- The Independent
Myanmar earthquake: Man pulled out alive after over 100 hours trapped under rubble
A 26-year-old man was pulled out alive from the rubble of a hotel five days after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake devastated Myanmar, even as hopes faded of finding more survivors. The man was retrieved by a team of Myanmarese and Turkish rescue workers in the capital Naypyidaw after a nine-hour operation on Tuesday, local media reported. Shirtless and covered in dust, Naing Lin Tun appeared weak but conscious in a video released by the local fire department as he was fitted with an IV drip and taken away. The rescue workers used an endoscopic camera to pinpoint his location in the rubble and confirm that he was alive, officials said. The man was gingerly pulled through a hole jackhammered through a floor and loaded onto a gurney nearly 108 hours after he was trapped in the hotel where he worked. The rescue appeared miraculous as the man's chances of survival under the rubble had dropped quickly with each day after the first 24 hours. Fire officials said on Tuesday that they had earlier rescued a 63-year-old woman from the rubble of a building in the capital. The most powerful earthquake to jolt Myanmar in a century killed at least 2,886 people, destroyed thousands of buildings and pagodas, flattened roads, and toppled buildings hundreds of miles away in neighbouring Thailand. The earthquake collapsed a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok. One body was recovered from the rubble on Wednesday, raising the death total in Bangkok to 22 and the number of the injured to 34, most at the construction site. The head of Myanmar 's military junta, Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, told a forum for relief donations in Naypyidaw that 4,521 people suffered injuries and 441 were missing, state media reported. "Among the missing, most are assumed to be dead. There is a narrow chance for them to remain alive," he said in a speech. He said Friday's earthquake was the second most powerful in the country's recorded history after an 8-magnitude quake struck east of Mandalay in May 1912. The real scale of the devastation was not known due to limited information emerging from a country already wracked by a deadly conflict between the military junta, which seized power in a 2021 coup, and a number of armed ethnic rebel groups seeking autonomy or independence. The death toll was expected to rise, even though the junta had allegedly enforced a blackout on the reporting of casualties among military personnel in the capital. 'Around 100 soldiers and their families were killed in battalions across Naypyidaw," a military defector told The Irrawaddy. The earthquake has only deepened the dire humanitarian crisis caused by the civil war, which has displaced over 3 million people and left nearly 20 million in need of assistance, according to the UN. Several countries have pledged millions of dollars in assistance to help Myanmar as well as humanitarian aid organisations deal with the devastation and its aftermath. Australia on Wednesday said it was giving $4.5m in addition to $1.25m it had already committed and had a rapid response team on the ground. India sent two Navy ships with supplies and around 200 rescue workers. China sent 270 rescue and relief workers, Russia 212, and the UAE 122. The US said it would provide $2m in emergency assistance and send a US Agency for International Development team to determine how best to respond given limited resources due to the slashing of the foreign aid budget.
Boston Globe
31-03-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Earthquake compounds Myanmar's humanitarian crisis as the death toll passes 2,000
Relief efforts are further hampered by power outages, fuel shortages, and spotty communications. A lack of heavy machinery has Rescue workers at Mandalay's collapsed U Hla Thein monastery said they were still searching for about 150 of the dead monks. Advertisement Some 700 Muslim worshipers attending Friday prayers were killed when mosques collapsed, said Tun Kyi, a member of the steering committee of the Spring Revolution Myanmar Muslim Network. He said some 60 mosques were damaged or destroyed. Videos posted on The Irrawaddy online news site showed several mosques toppling. It was not clear whether those numbers were already included in the official toll. Myanmar state MRTV reported that the leader of the military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, told Pakistan's prime minister during a call that 2,065 people were killed, with more than 3,900 injured and about 270 missing. Advertisement Relief agencies expect those numbers to rise sharply, since access is slow to remote areas where communications are down. The United Nations' Myanmar country team called for unimpeded access for aid teams. 'Even before this earthquake, nearly 20 million people in Myanmar were in need of humanitarian assistance,' said Marcoluigi Corsi, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator. 'We're really not clear on the scale of the destruction at this stage,' Lauren Ellery, deputy director of programs in Myanmar for the International Rescue Committee, told the Associated Press. 'They were talking about a town near Mandalay where 80 percent of the buildings were reportedly collapsed, but it wasn't in the news because telecommunications have been slow.' Groups the IRC works with have reported that some places are cut off by landslides, she said. The World Health Organization said it has reports of three hospitals destroyed and 22 partially damaged in the region. 'There is an urgent need for trauma and surgical care, blood transfusion supplies, anesthetics, essential medicines and mental health support,' it said. More than 10,000 buildings are collapsed or severely damaged in central and northwest Myanmar, the UN humanitarian agency said. One preschool classroom building collapsed in Mandalay district, killing 50 children and two teachers, it said. An artificial intelligence analysis of satellite images of Mandalay by Microsoft's AI for Good Lab showed 515 buildings with 80 to 100 percent damage and another 1,524 with 20 to 80 percent damage. It was not clear what percentage of the city's buildings that represented. Advertisement Rescue efforts are also complicated by the civil war. In 2021, the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into significant armed resistance. While one group has declared a partial unilateral ceasefire, the government and other armed groups have not stopped fighting. Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places were dangerous or impossible for aid groups to reach even before the quake. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting, according to the UN. Ellery with the International Rescue Committee noted that the area worst hit by the earthquake was seriously damaged by flooding last year, and many displaced people sought refuge there. Since the earthquake, many people have been sleeping outside, either because homes were destroyed or out of fear of aftershocks. Monsoon rains start in May and finding people shelter will be a major challenge, she said. On Monday, an Indian team jackhammered through slabs of fallen concrete at one site in Mandalay. They could be seen bringing out one body. The European Union, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and others have announced millions of dollars in aid. Despite massive cuts and firings at the A small number of US military personnel were sent to assist in Bangkok, where the earthquake killed at least 18 people, many at a construction site where a Advertisement On Monday, heavy equipment was temporarily shut down at the site and authorities urged onlookers to be silent as they used machines to try and detect signs of life. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters that signs had been detected Sunday night, though experts could not determine whether it had been machine error. Watching the crews at work, Naruemon Thonglek said she had 'made some peace' with the fact that her partner and five friends there were unlikely to be found alive. 'A part of me still hope they will survive,' she said.
Chicago Tribune
31-03-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Earthquake compounds humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, where death toll has passed 1,700
BANGKOK — A massive earthquake that rocked Myanmar could exacerbate hunger and disease outbreaks in a country already wracked by food shortages, mass displacement and civil war, aid groups and the United Nations warned Monday. The official death toll climbed past 1,700, but the true figure is feared to be much higher. The 7.7 magnitude quake hit Friday, with an epicenter near Myanmar's second-largest city of Mandalay, damaging the city's airport, buckling roads and downing hundreds of buildings along a wide swath of territory down the middle of the country. Some 270 monks were taking an exam in Mandalay's U Hla Thein monastery, which crumpled to the ground when the quake struck. Seventy were able to escape, but rescue workers at the scene Monday said 50 were found dead and that they were still searching for 150 more in the rubble. Some 700 Muslim worshippers attending Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan were also killed when mosques collapsed, said Tun Kyi, a member of the steering committee of the Spring Revolution Myanmar Muslim Network. It was not clear whether they or the monks were already included in the official count. Tun Kyi said some 60 mosques were damaged or destroyed, and videos posted on The Irrawaddy online news site showed several mosques toppling during the quake, and people fleeing from the areas. With an ongoing civil war and poor infrastructure, Myanmar was already one of the most challenging places in the world for aid organizations to operate, and relief efforts have been further hampered by severe damage to roads, bridges and hospitals, power outages, fuel shortages and spotty communications. A lack of heavy machinery has slowed search-and-rescue operations, forcing many to search for survivors by hand, with daily temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Government spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told state-run MRTV that more than 1,700 people had been found dead and that another 3,400 have been injured and more than 300 were missing. 'This latest tragedy compounds an already dire crisis and risks further eroding the resilience of communities already battered by conflict, displacement, and past disasters,' the United Nations' Myanmar country team said Monday, calling for unimpeded access for aid convoys, medical personnel and assessment teams. 'Even before this earthquake, nearly 20 million people in Myanmar were in need of humanitarian assistance,' said Marcoluigi Corsi, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator for Myanmar. Full extent of the devastation is not yet clear Aid agencies in Myanmar say their teams on the ground still don't have a true picture of the devastation. 'We're really not clear on the scale of the destruction at this stage,' Lauren Ellery, deputy director of programs in Myanmar for the International Rescue Committee, told The Associated Press. 'They were talking about a town near Mandalay where 80% of the buildings were reportedly collapsed, but it wasn't in the news because telecommunications have been slow.' And groups the IRC works with reported that some places have been physically cut off by landslides, she said. The World Health Organization said it has reports of three hospitals destroyed and 22 partially damaged in the region. 'The scale of deaths and injuries is not yet fully understood and the numbers are expected to increase,' the U.N. agency said in a report. 'The earthquake's devastation has overwhelmed health care facilities in the affected areas, which are struggling to manage the influx of injured individuals,' it added. 'There is an urgent need for trauma and surgical care, blood transfusion supplies, anesthetics, essential medicines, and mental health support.' An artificial intelligence analysis of satellite images of Mandalay by Microsoft's AI for Good Lab showed 515 buildings with 80%-100% damage and another 1,524 with between 20% and 80% damage. It was not clear what percentage of the city's buildings that represented. Myanmar was already enduring a humanitarian crisis Beyond the earthquake damage, rescue efforts are complicated by the bloody civil war roiling much of the country. In 2021, the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has since turned into significant armed resistance. While one group in the civil war declared a partial unilateral ceasefire, the government and other armed groups have not stopped fighting, despite international calls to end the violence to facilitate the humanitarian response. Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places were dangerous or impossible for aid groups to reach even before the quake. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting, according to the U.N. Ellery, of the International Rescue Committee, noted that the area worst hit by the earthquake was already seriously damaged by flooding last year in which many lost homes, and is also where many of the country's internally displaced people have sought refuge. Since the earthquake, many people have been sleeping outside, either because their homes have been destroyed or they are worried that the continuing aftershocks might bring them down. With the monsoon rains starting in May, finding people shelter was going to be a major challenge, she said. 'You have these flooding events … that lead to disease outbreaks, they lead to displacement and food insecurity, but then with damaged hospitals and clearly damaged sanitation systems, it's really increasing the risk of disease outbreaks,' she said. 'It's pretty much unparalleled stress on many, many vulnerable people' Myanmar's neighbors and allies are among those sending aid International rescue teams from several countries are now on the scene, including from Russia, China, India and several Southeast Asian countries. On Monday, an Indian team jackhammered through slabs of fallen concrete at one site in Mandalay, cutting rebar reinforcement with an angle grinder powered by a portable generator as they sought to reach lower levels. They could be seen bringing out one covered body and loading it into an ambulance. The European Union, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and others have announced millions of dollars in aid, either directly or through local partners and international organizations. Despite massive cuts and firings at the U.S. Agency for International Development — the body charged with delivering humanitarian assistance overseas — the American Embassy said a team of experts was on its way to Myanmar. The embassy said it would provide up to $2 million through local organizations. A small number of American military personnel were also sent to assist in Bangkok, where the earthquake killed at least 18 people, many at a construction site where a partially built high-rise collapsed. Another 33 have been reported injured and 78 missing, primarily at the construction site near the popular Chatuchak market. Rescuers look for survivors in Bangkok On Monday, heavy equipment was temporarily shut down at the site and authorities urged onlookers to be silent as they used machines to try and detect any signs of life from under the rubble. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters at the scene that signs had been detected Sunday night, though experts could not determine whether it had been machine error. Watching the crews work in the rubble, Naruemon Thonglek said she had already 'made some peace' with the fact that her partner and five friends believed buried beneath were unlikely to be found alive. 'A part of me still hope they will survive,' she said. 'For a miracle, if it exists.'
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Toll from devastating Myanmar earthquake climbs
More than 1700 people have been confirmed dead in Myanmar after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked the nation Government spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun told state-run MRTV another 3400 people have been injured and more than 300 are missing. The military had previously reported 1644 dead but did not provide specific figures in its update on Monday. The earthquake hit at midday on Friday, causing widespread damage, including in the capital, Naypyidaw, and the second-largest city, Mandalay. It was the time of Friday prayers for the country's Muslim minority during the holy month of Ramadan, and some 700 worshippers were killed when mosques collapsed, said Tun Kyi, a member of the steering committee of the Spring Revolution Myanmar Muslim Network. It was not clear whether they were already included in the official count of casualties. Tun Kyi said some 60 mosques were damaged or destroyed when the earthquake struck, and videos posted on The Irrawaddy online news site showed several mosques toppling during the quake, and people fleeing from the areas. The true number of people killed and injured is thought to be possibly many times the official figures, but with telecommunication outages and extreme challenges to movement around the country, little is known about the damage in many areas. "We're really not clear on the scale of the destruction at this stage," Lauren Ellery, deputy director of programs in Myanmar for the International Rescue Committee, told The Associated Press. There is a state of emergency in six regions, and Ellery said her teams on the ground and their local partners are currently assessing where needs are the greatest, while providing emergency medical care, humanitarian supplies and other assistance. A woman was freed from the ruins of a Mandalay hotel after 60 hours trapped under the collapsed Great Wall Hotel. The rescue was a five-hour operation by Chinese, Russian and local teams, according to a Chinese embassy Facebook post. It said she was in stable condition early on Monday. The earthquake, centred near Mandalay, a city of some 1.5 million, brought down buildings and damaged other infrastructure such as the city's airport. The earthquake also shook neighbouring Thailand and killed at least 18 people, many at a construction site in Bangkok where a partially built high-rise collapsed. Another 33 have been reported injured and 78 missing, primarily at the construction site near the popular Chatuchak market. Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters at the scene that signs of life had been detected on Sunday night, though experts could not determine whether it had been a machine error. "Even if one life is saved, it is worth all the effort," he said. The United Nations said it was rushing relief supplies to an estimated 23,000 quake-hit survivors in central Myanmar. "Our teams in Mandalay are joining efforts to scale up the humanitarian response despite going through the trauma themselves," said Noriko Takagi, the UN refugee agency's representative in Myanmar. India, China and Thailand are among Myanmar's neighbours that have sent relief materials and teams, along with aid and personnel from Malaysia, Singapore and Russia. The United States pledged $US2 million ($A3.2 million) in aid "through Myanmar-based humanitarian assistance organisations". The quake devastation has piled more misery on Myanmar, already in chaos from a civil war that grew out of a nationwide uprising after a 2021 military coup ousted the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. With Reuters
