Regime uses paramotors and gyrocopters to target civilians, Fortify Rights says

By Admin 27 Jan 2026

DMG Newsroom

27 January 2026, Kyauktaw

The regime is increasingly using paramotors and gyrocopters in aerial operations, leading to rising civilian casualties, according to a report released by Fortify Rights.

Data compiled by Fortify Rights shows that between December 2024 and 11 January 2026, there were 304 documented attacks involving paramotors and gyrocopters. These aerial vehicles have been mainly deployed in central Myanmar and lowland areas, including Sagaing, Magway, Mandalay, Ayeyarwady, and Bago regions.

“The Myanmar military has found new ways to kill civilians from the sky using paramotors and gyrocopters equipped with explosives released by operators without guidance,” said Chit Seng, a human rights associate at Fortify Rights. “As Myanmar enters its fifth year under junta rule, governments must urgently impose sanctions on the transfer of weapons, aviation fuel, and technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, including parts used to assemble paramotors and gyrocopters.”

The rights group said that while the regime continues to seek formal international recognition, it is simultaneously adapting its tactics and terrorizing civilians with methods aimed at increasing civilian casualties.

Fortify Rights called on the international community to urgently block the flow of weapons, aviation fuel, and technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, including parts for paramotors and gyrocopters, to the regime.

The report also quoted a former member of the regime air force, who described the shift in strategy.

“In the long term, these methods are affordable and efficient for warfare and can be deployed quickly. Most importantly, they do not require highly trained pilots. A jet fighter costs millions of dollars, while a paramotor costs no more than a single wheel of a jet,” the former air force member said.

As the regime faces major military setbacks and struggles to regain control of lost territory, it has increasingly relied on this form of aerial warfare. Indiscriminate attacks on civilians have left communities living in constant fear, the report said.

Fortify Rights urged United Nations member states to strictly enforce existing sanctions on the regime and to introduce new targeted restrictive measures.