Closing ranks: Soldiers from the 77th light infantry division walking along a street during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, in this file photo from Feb 28, 2021. — Reuters
Two years after a major rebel offensive left much of the country’s borderlands in resistance hands, the junta has found its footing on the battlefield, according to interviews with six rebel fighters and three security analysts, including some who interact regularly with the military.
The junta has reshaped its tactics by introducing conscription and expanding its drone fleet, enabling it to reclaim some territory after defeats or stalemates on the battlefield.
Three rebel fighters, including Htike and Khant, said they had witnessed the military using “human wave” manoeuvres to overwhelm rebel defences, reflecting new tactics that have not previously been reported.
“After one soldier died, another one came up to take his place,” said Khant of the October battle.
Junta troops had previously been quick to flee once losses started to mount, two rebel fighters said.
The changes have helped the military mount a limited comeback in at least three states, according to a November briefing by the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
The junta is likely to be further emboldened to seek to reclaim more territory as momentum shifts along the frontline, which stretches hundreds of kilometres from China to the Bay of Bengal, said Min Zaw Oo, executive director of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security think-tank.
The junta has also built up a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including scouting drones.
The military appears to have access to 19 different UAV models, including fixed-wing and multi-rotor drones, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a coalition of international researchers that tracks the Myanmar civil war.
Conventional airstrikes remain the military’s most frequently used tactic in 2025, Acled data show, though these are now increasingly guided by intelligence gathered from reconnaissance and surveillance drones, said Su Mon, an analyst with the group.
While resistance groups have access to drones, they are vulnerable to junta UAVs due to a lack of jamming technology and air-defence systems, said Su Mon and two rebel fighters.
The military has also started to allow lower-level commanders to directly request air support that previously required senior approval, enabling airstrikes on enemy defences ahead of infantry assaults, according to the three analysts. — Reuters
