Russia has signed a contract to supply an unspecified number of Orlan-10E surveillance drones to Myanmar as part of a deal that also includes Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile systems and radar equipment.
The Russian defense systems, particularly the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft systems, are expected to be deployed in Myanmar’s Shan state, which borders the Wa Self-Administered Zone controlled by the United Wa State Army, Myanmar’s largest ethnic armed organization, The Irrawaddy reported.
The deal was inked during Russian Defense Minister General Sergey Shoigu’s visit to Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw last week and marks Moscow’s entry into the unmanned aircraft market.
“Before, it was all hints that ‘foreign customers are interested,’” Samuel Bendett, an expert on Russian defense, told Forbes. “Now we are seeing Russia sell its combat-proven workhorse.”
Myanmar is a long-time buyer of Russian defense equipment. Since 2001, the Southeast Asian nation has bought 30 MiG-29 jet fighters, 12 Yak-130 jet trainers, 10 Mi-24 and Mi-35P helicopters, and eight Pechora-2M anti-aircraft missile systems.
In 2018, Naypyidaw signed a contract to buy six Su-30 fighter aircraft from Moscow.
That same year, the two nations also signed an agreement allowing vessels of their respective navies to enter each other’s ports.
Last year, Myanmarese soldiers took part in a joint military exercise in Russia, which also included defense personnel from Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Pakistan, and China.
Naypyidaw, once a heavy buyer of Western defense equipment, has grown closer to Moscow and Beijing since Western countries imposed sanctions on the country following the 1988 and 2021 military coup.
© 2021, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Be the first to comment