Every war the Myanmar Air Force has fought
Almost every entry is an internal war. Since the 2021 takeover the air force has fought for the military government against the People’s Defence Forces of the National Unity Government and ethnic armed organisations. The military government says it strikes only legitimate military targets; the UN human rights office, rights groups and the National Unity Government report civilians killed in large numbers, and every casualty figure is given with the body that reports it. Resistance claims of aircraft shot down are mostly unverified, and the military usually attributes its losses to technical failure. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From the insurrections of 1948 to the civil war since 2021.
| Conflict | Jaren | Tegen | Hoofdvliegtuig | Uitvallen | Vliegtuig verloren | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communist and ethnic insurgenciesthe internal conflicts after independenceBurmese Air Force | 1948–1962 | Communist Party of Burma and Karen insurgent forces | Spitfire, Seafire, Provosten nog 2 | — | — | |
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Transport and close air support for the army against communist and Karen insurgents. Burma was in civil war within months of independence in January 1948, and the young air force was used as flying support for an army fighting communists and Karen forces. It bought its first real combat aircraft for this war: Spitfires from Israel and Seafires from Britain in 1953, Provosts in 1954 and Sea Furies in 1957–1958. Wikipedia records aircraft deployed to Lashio for close air support. Neither sortie nor loss figures are available in the English-language sources consulted. Resultaat The insurgencies were contained but not ended; Burma’s internal wars have run in some form ever since. Detail on this period rests largely on Wikipedia’s summary of Maung Aung Myoe’s history; figures were not corroborated. |
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| Operations against Kuomintang forces in Burmathe KMT incursion and the 1961 Privateer interceptionBurmese Air Force | 1950–1961 | Kuomintang forces in Burma and Republic of China Air Force (supply flights) | Hawker Sea Fury | — | 1 | |
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Supported army operations against Kuomintang troops who had retreated from China, and intercepted their air supply. Kuomintang troops who had crossed into Burma from 1950 were supplied by air, including CIA-backed flights in 1951, and Burma complained to the United Nations in March 1953. On 15 February 1961 an unmarked Republic of China Air Force PB4Y Privateer carrying supplies was intercepted by three Sea Furies and brought down near the Thai border; the bomber and one Burmese fighter came down in Thailand. It remains the air force’s only reported air-to-air victory; an Irrawaddy columnist noted in 2026 that its last air-to-air combat dates back more than six decades. Resultaat The KMT were driven into Thailand and Laos after joint Sino-Burmese operations in 1960–1961. Details of the 1961 interception differ slightly between Wikipedia articles; the Burmese Army is credited with the downing in the Kuomintang article.
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| Kachin conflictair strikes around Laiza and in TanaiMyanmar Air Force | 2011–2021 | Kachin Independence Army | K-8, Mi-35, Mi-17 | — | — | |
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Air strikes against Kachin Independence Army positions. Air strikes began on 26 December 2012, and on 2 January 2013 the government confirmed that it had carried them out, describing its operations as self-defence. The KIA said strikes continued for six days around its headquarters at Laiza. The US State Department expressed concern and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Myanmar to avoid endangering civilians. Wikipedia’s K-8 article says K-8s struck KIA positions in December 2012 and January 2013. Further air strikes were reported in Tanai Township in March 2018. Resultaat Fighting continued; the conflict merged into the wider civil war after 2021. Casualties from air attack in this period are not separately documented in the sources consulted. |
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| 2015 Kokang offensivethe cross-border bombing of YunnanMyanmar Air Force | 2015 | Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army | A-5C | — | — | |
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Air strikes against the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army. From 9 February 2015 the army fought the MNDAA in Kokang with air support. On 13 March 2015 bombs dropped by A-5C jets fell on a village in Gengma County, Yunnan, killing four people and wounding nine. China demanded an investigation and threatened a decisive response, deploying fighters and surface-to-air missiles to the border according to Wikipedia; Myanmar apologised. Resultaat The MNDAA was pushed back; Myanmar apologised to China for the Yunnan bombing. |
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| Myanmar civil warthe air campaign since the 2021 military takeoverMyanmar Air Force | 2021– | People’s Defence Forces (National Unity Government), Kachin Independence Army, Arakan Army, Karen National Liberation Army, Karenni resistance forces and Other ethnic armed organisations | Su-30SME, MiG-29, Yak-130en nog 7 meer | — | 13 | |
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Air strikes, close support and transport for the military government’s forces against the People’s Defence Forces of the National Unity Government and ethnic armed organisations. Air power has been the military government’s main advantage since the 1 February 2021 takeover. The UN human rights office, as quoted by the Irrawaddy, recorded 982 civilians killed by air strikes in 2025, including 232 children, up from 641 in 2024; for August 2025 to January 2026 it counted 476 civilian deaths from air strikes among 702 verified civilian deaths. Among the deadliest attacks: Hpakant, 23 October 2022, at least 80 killed according to the KIO, which the military called false news; Pazigyi, 11 April 2023, at least 100 killed and 171 by BBC Burmese’s count, which the military confirmed as an attack on a PDF ceremony; Kanan, 7 January 2024, 17 killed including nine children according to local residents, which state media denied; a school in Kyauktaw, 12 September 2025, 22 killed according to local media; Mrauk-U hospital, 10 December 2025, at least 33 killed according to the Arakan Army; and a Kyauktaw market on 28 September 2026, at least 33 (Arakan Army) or 50 (UN) killed. The military government says it strikes only legitimate military targets. Resultaat Wordt vervolgd. Casualty counts come from the UN, the National Unity Government, ethnic armed organisations, local media and monitors, and differ; the military government rarely publishes figures. Aircraft loss claims are unconfirmed.
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| Operation 1027the Three Brotherhood Alliance offensive in northern ShanMyanmar Air Force | 2023–2024 | Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army, Arakan Army and Kachin Independence Army | FTC-2000G, Mi-17, K-8W | — | 2 | |
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Air strikes against the offensive of the MNDAA, TNLA and Arakan Army and their allies. The offensive began on 27 October 2023. A China-brokered truce agreed in Kunming took effect on 11 January 2024, but the alliance accused the military of breaking it with air strikes within two days. Fighting resumed in June 2024 and Lashio fell on 3 August 2024. Resultaat The MNDAA took the Northeastern Command headquarters in Lashio on 3 August 2024. Part of the wider civil war; listed separately because it was the largest single offensive against the military government.
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Elk cijfer, gecontroleerd
- TRT World: Myanmar confirms deadly air strike that is feared to have killed 100 (12 April 2023)Zaw Min Tun’s statement on the Pazigyi strike.
- Al Jazeera: Dozens killed and wounded in Myanmar military air attacks (11 April 2023)Fighter jets and Mi-35s at Pazigyi; early tolls.
- Amnesty International: Myanmar: Urgent need to suspend aviation fuel as air strikes wreak havoc (11 April 2023)Call to suspend aviation fuel imports.
- OHCHR: Myanmar: Foreign indifference compounds suffering of civilians – UN report (22 June 2026)702 verified civilian deaths August 2025 to January 2026, 476 from air strikes; transfers of arms and jet fuel.
- OHCHR: Human rights situation in Myanmar plummets to new low (25 August 2026)UN report covering 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026.
- OHCHR: Myanmar: Türk deplores deadly strikes at busy Rakhine market (29 September 2026)Kyauktaw, 28 September 2026: at least 50 killed, 58 injured.
- Al Jazeera: Myanmar military launches air strike on Rakhine market, killing at least 33 (28 September 2026)Arakan Army toll; military says it strikes only legitimate targets; Min Aung Hlaing elected president in April 2026.
- Al Jazeera: Dozens killed as Myanmar military government launches air strike on hospital (11 December 2025)Mrauk-U, at least 33 killed; ACLED air strike counts for 2024 and 2025.
- VOA: Air attack in Myanmar kills 17 including children, but military denies responsibility (January 2024)Kanan, 7 January 2024; MRTV denial.
- The Irrawaddy: 22 people, mostly children, dead in junta airstrike on boarding school in Rakhine (12 September 2025)Two 500-pound bombs; tolls from the Arakan Army and local media.
- The Irrawaddy: UN denounces Myanmar junta attacks amid earthquake devastation (11 April 2025)OHCHR: more than 120 attacks since the quake; NUG count of 72 civilians killed 28 March to 8 April.
- US Treasury: Treasury expands Burma-related sanctions and designates additional jet fuel suppliers in Burma (23 August 2023)Jet fuel sector determination; two individuals and three Singapore companies.
- The Irrawaddy: Who sustains Myanmar’s murderous air force? (guest column, 30 September 2026)Opinion column; used only for sourced figures: UN count of 982 civilians killed by air strikes in 2025; Amnesty count of 109,604 t aviation fuel imported in 2025; Tun Win as chief.
- The Irrawaddy: Thirteen Myanmar junta aircraft shot down since coup (5 July 2025)Loss claims by date, type and group, with verification caveats.
Cijfers geverifieerd op 30-09-2026. Back to the Myanmar Air Force.