The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has released photographic evidence of their drone attack that destroyed a military council helicopter which had made an emergency landing in Shwegu after KIA forces attacked helicopters carrying military reinforcements, supplies, and ammunition to Military Operations Command 21 in Banmaw Township, Kachin State. On May 20, KIA forces engaged three military council helicopters heading to Banmaw as reinforcements. Of these, one helicopter crashed in a forested area in Shwegu Township, while another was forced to make an emergency landing at Infantry Battalion 56 in Shwegu.
The following day, on May 21, joint forces of the KIA and Kachin People’s Defense Force (KPDF) launched drone attacks on the emergency-landed helicopter. The drone strikes not only damaged the grounded helicopter but also destroyed military vehicles belonging to security forces and repair teams that had arrived to protect and repair the aircraft. According to KIA sources, the Mi-17 helicopter that had emergency-landed at Infantry Battalion 56 in Shwegu was attacked three times with conventional drones and twice with suicide drones, resulting in complete destruction of the aircraft beyond repair. The intensity and precision of these attacks demonstrate the increasing capability of resistance forces to counter the military council’s air assets.
Regarding the earlier incident of the Mi-17 helicopter that crashed in the forested area of Shwegu Township due to KIA fire, the KIA forces recovered 16 bodies of military personnel and 14 damaged weapons from the crash site. They also recovered the intact body of the helicopter pilot, Major Myothut Aung. These incidents represent significant developments in the ongoing conflict between the military council forces and people’s defense forces, marking notable successes in countering the military council’s air superiority. The systematic targeting of military council aircraft has impacted their ability to provide air support and reinforcements in the region, demonstrating the evolving tactical capabilities of resistance forces in their campaign against the military council’s operations.
