Drone warfare : Strategic implications

In recent months, the ethnic armed groups have won most of their battles against the sophisticated and heavily armed Junta Government in Myanmar, showcasing their strategic and tactical prowess in modern warfare. As the fighting intensifies, their use of commercial weaponised drones emerges as a critical game changer in the war against the Junta, wrote Sreeparna Banerjee in the Observer Research Foundation some time back.
Governments and conventional air forces have long dominated the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in warfare. The commercialisation of drone technology, however, has allowed non-State entities to acquire and weaponise affordable commercial drones. This shift is exemplified by local defence forces in Myanmar as they use drones to resist the Tatmadaw.
According to the Centre for Information Resilience, from October 2021 to June 2023, 1,400 online videos of drone flights, were conducted by groups opposing the Myanmar military.
By early 2023, the organisation reported authenticating 100 flights per month. Over time, drones have evolved from off-the-shelf quadcopters made by Chinese companies like DJI to a wider variety, including improvised drones made with 3D printing technology.
The ethnic armed groups, especially the Three Brotherhood Alliance, have resorted to a lethal strategy that includes the use of drones as part of their primary warfare approach. These groups use drones to map territories, assess troop strength, and effectively dismantle the regime outposts and stakeout groups. During October–November last year, the ethnic armed forces dropped more than 25,000 bombs dropped using drones on the military bases.