Resistance forces in Magway Region destroyed a junta Mi-17, a Russian-made medium transport helicopter, in Myaing Township on June 23 using first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones, the Magway People’s Defense Force (PDF) confirmed.
#Myanmar 🇲🇲: People’s Defense Forces (#PDF) struck Burmese Mil Mi-17 military helicopter in #Magway.
Fighters seemingly used multiple FPV Kamikaze Drones; armed with possible MR-1/2 rocket warhead / HE MK II mortar bombs. pic.twitter.com/eLARF85U4C
— War Noir (@war_noir) June 23, 2026
The strike hit near Twinma village, 12 miles south of Myaing town, where regime forces and Pyu Saw Htee militia allies have sheltered some 500 troops since resistance fighters seized the Thayetkan police station in May 2026. A resistance fighter told The Irrawaddy the drones struck after the helicopter completed its supply run and was preparing for takeoff.
The Magway PDF identified the strike force as PDF units from Pakokku, Pauk, and Myaing, Minbu District 4th Battalion cadets, regional MGY-PDF elements, and guerrillas Anyar Fighter and Saga Kyar. Footage the group released shows what appears to be two FPV drones striking the aircraft.
Open-source analysts identified the munitions as possible MR-1/2 rocket warheads or HE MK II mortar bombs. Military defector Zin Yaw said one sergeant was killed and another seriously injured. The Magway PDF has not confirmed the figures.
In Myanmar’s Myaing Township, resistance forces struck a government Mi-17 transport helicopter with an FPV drone while it was on the ground deploying troops during an assault operation. pic.twitter.com/Ji5gzS5dFj
— Defence research forum DRF (@Defres360) June 23, 2026
The junta responded with airstrikes using fighter jets and Harbin Y-12 light transport aircraft, a Chinese-made plane the regime has adapted for low-altitude bombing. No. 101 Division and approximately 300 troops launched a counter-offensive toward Kamma, 4 miles from the crash site.
The strike is the first helicopter kill attributed to a non-ethnic resistance force rather than an ethnic armed organization (EAO). The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) previously downed Mi-17s in January 2024 and May 2025 using FPV drone methods in Kachin State. The Magway PDF operates in Myanmar’s central dry zone, where this capability had not been demonstrated before.
Since the February 2021 coup, resistance forces have shot down or destroyed at least 14 regime aircraft. Each Mi-17 is valued at approximately $15 million.
