MYANMAR Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force. ACTIVE 139,000 Personnel (Army 100,000; Air 20,000; Navy 19,000) Paramilitary 70,000;
MYANMAR AIR FORCE (MAF) • တပ်မတော် (လေ) • Tatmadaw Lay
Air Force ε20,000 Active Personnel. Organization: 11 air bases/wings (10 major air bases, 1 aircraft production and maintenance command). Flying hours ε120 hrs/year
Forces by Role & Equipment by Type
(incl Air Defence Units)
• AIRCRAFT 166 combat capable. Total ε350 Aircrafts
Ordered Combat Aircraft / Helicopters:
6 Sukhoi Su-30SME Flanker H (On order from Russia - partial delivery confirmed);
9 PAC/Chengdu JF-17 Thunder Block III (On order from Pakistan/China);
10 Guizhou FTC-2000G Mountain Eagle (On order from China);
24 Hongdu K-8 Karakorum (Basic trainer/Light attack) ;
Fighter & Fighter / Ground Attack 7 squadrons with 114 FGA ac:
1 Sqn with 31 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum (11 MiG-29B; 6 MiG-29SE; 10 MiG-29SM; 4 MiG-29UB);
1 Sqn with 21 Chengdu F-7 Airguard (F-7M);
1 Sqn with 6 Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 Thunder (FC-1 Block II) (4 JF-17; 2 JF-17B);
2 Sukhoi Su-30SME Flanker H (Inducting);
10 Guizhou FT-7 (Training/Combat);
Attack 2 squadrons with 21 ATK ac:
2 Sqn with 21 Nanchang A-5C Fantan;
Special Mission / ISR 3 unit with 13 ISR ac:
1 Unit with 5 Britten-Norman BN-2T Defender (Maritime Patrol);
1 Unit with 5 Beechcraft Beech 1900D (ISR);
1 Unit with 3 Cessna Beech 200T King Air (Recce);
Transport 3 squadrons with 26 Tpt ac:
1 Sqn with 4 Shaanxi Y-8D (Medium); 1 Shaanxi Y-8F-200W (Medium);
1 Sqn with 2 Xian MA60 (Light); 3 Fokker F-27 Friendship (Light);
1 Sqn with 4 ATR-42-320 (Light); 2 Beechcraft Beech 1900D (Light);
Training 4 squadrons with 113 Trg ac:
1 Advanced Trg/ATK Sqn with 20 Yakovlev Yak-130 Mitten; 5 SOKO G-4 Super Galeb (Conversion Trg);
1 Trg/ATK Sqn with Intermediate 37 Hongdu K-8 Karakorum;
1 Basic Trg Sqn with 20 Grob G120;
1 Basic Trg Sqn with 16 Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer; 10 Pilatus PC-9;
Storage 1 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29S Fulcrum C ;
• HELICOPTERS 15 attack/armed capable. Total ε100 Helicopters
Attack 1 squadron with 15 Atk hel:
1 Sqn with 9 Mil Mi-24P Hind F; 6 Mil Mi-35P Hind F;
Transport / Multi-role 4 squadrons with ε85 MRH / Tpt helo:
1 Sqn with Multi-role 16 Mil Mi-8/17 Hip H; 13 Sud Aviation SA316 Alouette III/SE3160;
10 PZL-Swidnik Bo-105 (Light); 22 PZL Mi-2 Hoplite;
1 Sqn with Utility 12 PZL W-3 Sokol ;
1 Sqn with Utility 2 Bell 205 (UH-1H Iroquois); 3 Bell 206 Jet Ranger; 1 Bell 212;
1 Sqn with 8 Airbus H125M Fennec (Inducting)
• UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS (UAS) 12 armed capable. Total 33 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
CISR: Heavy 1 sqn with 12 UCAV:
ε12 CASC Rainbow CH-3 (CISR Heavy);
ISR: Light 2 sqn with 21 Recce UAV:
ε10 Sky-02A (Tactical China UAV; Color CCD Video Camera and Infra Red Video Camera);
ε10 Yellow Cat A2 (Same as Sky 02A Tactical UAV);
1 Schiebel S-100 Camcopter (ISR)
• AIR-LAUNCHED WEAPONS
MISSILES
AAM: R-27 (RS-AA-10 Alamo); 210 R-73 (RS-AA-11 Archer For MiG-29) ;
R-60 (RS-AA-8 Aphid); R-77 (RS-AA-12 Adder) ;
SRAAM 100 PL-5B Thunderbolt-5B (For F-7M); PL-5E-II;
105 PL-2 Thunderbolt II (For F-7M), 225 PL- 2 Charlie 2 (For F-7M and A-5C)
R.550 Magic, AIM-9 Sidewinder, BVRAAM: PL-12; 120 R-27E/AA-10C Alamo (For MiG-29)
ASM: C-701; Kh-29 (RS-AS-14 Kedge); ε400 missiles; AT-3 Sagger;
AShM: C-802A (Standoff) ;
LACM: CM-400AKG (Wisy);
• BOMBS
BL755 Cluster Bombs, Matra Durandal Anti-Runaway Bombs, Up to 250 kg (550 lb) of unguided bombs
• AIR DEFENCE
SAM • Long-range: 1 bde with S-200 (RS-SA-5 Gammon); 12+ KS-1A (CH-SA-12);
SAM • Medium-range: some S-125 Pechora-2M (RS-SA-26); some 9K37 Buk-M1-2 (RS-SA-11);
SAM • Point-defence: 9K38 Igla (RS-SA-18 Grouse); 9K310 Igla-1 (RS-SA-16 Gimlet); HN-5 (CH-SA-3);
GUNS •
TOWED: ZPU-23 14.5mm; S-60 57mm; 24 Type-74 37mm ; 10 M1 40mm ;
SP: 12 Type-80 57mm ;
SPAAGM: 2K22 Tunguska 30mm (RS-SA-19 Grison) ;
• RADAR
3 JLG-43 Height finding radar (ex-Chinese search radar)
3 JLP-40 Air search radar (ex-Chinese)
12 JY-8A Fire control radar (For F-7M)
1 ST-68/Tin Shield Air search radar
2 AN/TPS-1 Air search radar (Possibly ex-US)
• FACILITIES: Air Force Command Headquarters located at HQ Naypyidaw: Central Air Command;
Myanmar AF Headquarters and Sector Operation Centers Airfields and Air Bases Organization:
Tada-U Air Base (Mandalay) housing Su-30SME and MiG-29 units;
Hmawbi Air Base housing Flight Training and Jet Conversion Wing;
Myitkyina HQ - Northern SOC Kachin State Region
Myitkyina Air Base (former 503 Air Base)
Nampong AFB (No.? Air Base)
No.4 Fighter Squadron: Chengdu F-7I, Guizhou FT-7M
No.? Attack Squadron: NAMC A-5M, Cessna T-37C
Homemalin Air Base HQ Sagaing Region
Meiktila HQ - Central SOC (Shante) housing Training Wing (K-8, Yak-130, PC-7/9);
Shante AFB (No.503 Air Base) Mandalay Central Region
No.? Fighter Squadron: MiG-29 Fulcrum-A
Meikhtila (Shante AFB) Air Base HQ / Fly Training and Ground Training Base:
For training and operation, another airbase at Meikthila is helicopter training base.
Aircraft Production and Maintenance Base: Meiktila (performs final assembly and MRO for trainer/light-attack and helicopters);
Myeik HQ - Southern SOC
Myeik Air Base
Sittwe HQ - Western SOC
Pathein Air Base
Magway Region- Magway Air Base (established in 2000) housing FTC-2000G and F-7 units;
Tachilek HQ - Eastern SOC
Hmawbi AFB (former No.501 Air Base) Yangon Region
No.1 Fighter Squadron: Chengdu F-7I, Guizhou FT-7M
No.? Attack Squadron: NAMC A-5M
Namsang AFB Shan State Region - Namsang Air Base housing A-5C and helicopter detachments;
Flying Training School: K-8 Karakorum, PC-7, PC-9, G.4 Super Galeb
Keng Tung AFB (No.? Air Base) Shan State Region
Helicopter Squadron: Bell 205A-1, UH-1H, Bell 206, Mi-2 Hoplite, Mi-17 Hip, W-3 Sokol
Yay HQ - South Eastern SOC
Mawalamyne AFB (No.? Air Base) Mon State Region
No.41 Fighter Squadron: Chengdu F-7I, Guizhou FT-7M
Mingaladon: Aircraft Production and Repair Base Headquarters (Yangon) housing 1st Transport Sqn (Y-8, ATR-42) and MiG-29 units;
Mingaladon AFB (former No.502 Air Base)
No.? Fighter Squadron (det.): MiG-29 Fulcrum
No.? Transport Squadron: Fokker F-27, Pilatus PC-6, Y-8D, SA.316 Alouette III,
No.? Liaison Squadron: Beech 65 Queen Air, Cessna 180D Skywagon, Cessna Citation II
Bago Division Region
Taungoo Air Base HQ - No.47 Helicopter Squardron
Naval Dockyard: Thanlyin (shipbuilding);
Operation locations supported by 14 military regions and 7 regional operation commands
Note: Myanmar has 37 airports with paved runways (over 3,047 m: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1), 39 airports with unpaved runways (over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 23) and 6 heliports
• Capabilities & Role By July 2026, the Myanmar Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay) has shifted its doctrine from a purely counter‑insurgency orientation to a hybrid model that balances internal security operations against EAOs and PDFs with regional air superiority and standoff maritime strike capabilities in the Bay of Bengal. Its inventory now includes Russian Su‑30SME heavy fighters, Chinese‑Pakistani JF‑17 Block II/III, FTC‑2000G multi‑role fighters, Yak‑130 and K‑8 trainers, alongside CH‑3 Rainbow UAS for persistent CISR missions, while legacy COIN assets remain in service. Modernization is driven by the integration of Su‑30SME and JF‑17 fleets, expansion of uncrewed systems, and consolidation of a layered air defense network with Russian and Chinese SAMs, supported by localized pilot training and mandatory conscription re‑introduced in 2024–2026 to offset losses. Strategically, the force seeks to project regional combat capability and maritime strike reach while sustaining high operational tempo in domestic conflicts, though vulnerabilities in airbase security and maintenance persist due to opposition drone strikes and sabotage.
• Official website: https://www.mod.gov.mm/ (Ministry of Defence)
4/5 Generation Fighters 
