Naung Yoe | Sergeant, Meiktila Ground Training Air Force Headquarters | ယခုဆောင်းပါးကို မြန်မာဘာသာဖြင့် ဖတ်ရှုရန် ဤနေရာတွင် နှိပ်ပါ

Cite as: 
Naung Yoe. (2025). The Training Aircraft Used to Bomb Civilians. Independent Journal of Burmese Scholarship, 5. https://ijbs.online/?page_id=5290

Abstract

The K-8W aircraft is commonly used by the Myanmar military. This article covers its technical specifications and capabilities, operational uses, and some information about the sections of the air force that fly and maintain these aircraft—and their training. All levels of the Myanmar air forces are corrupt and share the profits of jet fuel siphoned off surreptitiously and sold on the market. The article concludes with some recommendations for revolutionary forces defending against K-8W attacks.

Introducing the K-8W

In my career I had substantial experience with the K-8W aircraft, and here I wish to communicate what I know about it. To discuss the K-8W, we need to first start with the K-8 (no W) light attack aircraft, as K8-Ws are merely modified K-8s. The K-8 is an export version of the Chinese Hongdu JL-8 aircraft, and a joint venture between China and Pakistan. The “K” stands for Karakorum, mountains on the Pakistan-China border.  At around the year 2000, the first K-8W aircraft arrived in Myanmar, an order of around 18 units. Since then, Myanmar has ordered approximately 60 K-8Ws, Pakistan has ordered something like 120, China over 100, Sudan about 12, Zimbabwe 12, Zambia eight, Bolivia six, Sri Lanka approximately five, Ghana four, and Namibia four.

The main arms dealer involved with the purchase of Myanmar’s purchase of the aircraft was U Tay Za. The planes were transported by ship from China and assembled at the No. 10 Defense Equipment factory in Meiktila. The initial purpose and use for these airplanes was to train pilots at the Flying Training Base Command (i.e., the aviation training air base). While I was in service, I learned there were six of these aircraft in Shante and four in Taungoo. The Myanmar Air Force was the primary purchaser of these K-8Ws, and as mentioned, around sixty of these planes have been purchased by the military.

Currently, the Myanmar air force has aircraft assembly licenses for K-8s, and they are assembling and modifying these planes within the country as K-8Ws. The price of a K8-W is supposed to be approximately US $10 million, inclusive of all aircraft parts, or at least this is the budget requested when purchasing one of these planes. In reality, when these planes are actually purchased, not all of the aircraft parts are included in the sale, and so, the actual cost could be as little as US $5 million. For example, the purchase of a ‘new’ K-8 plane could in fact only result in the delivery of a new airframe. Parts like the head-up display (HUD) used for targeting can be taken out of an existing, older plane and reinstalled in newly purchased airframes. When this kind of thing happens, the ‘new’ aircraft has reduced overall quality; in the case of an HUD in particular, the pilot will deal with decreased accuracy when targeting, resulting in over- or under-shooting.

As mentioned, in Myanmar the K-8Ws are a type of training aircraft most often used for training jet fighter pilots. They are light jets also used as surveillance planes and to provide close-range air support to ground forces in areas where ground operations are not possible. The K-8W codename within the military is ye hman. There are two K-8W departments in the air force: the ground crew, which includes repairs and maintenance, and the flight crew. The flight crew officers graduated from the Defense Services Academy and fly the airplanes. The ground crew has several sub-departments such as Engine, Airframe, Electrical, Armament, Radio, Radar, and so on. For repairs, the ground crew includes mechanical officers and mechanical privates.

The K-8W uses a single Garrett turbofan engine with a diameter of 1.0-1.27 meters. The length of the aircraft is 11.6 meters, with a wingspan of 9.63 meters. Engines also have an “engine age” metric that refers to hours of usage. For example, if an aircraft’s engine age is fifty hours, then the aircraft requires an overhaul at the fifty-hour mark once it has reached its fifty hours of flight time. During the overhaul, the mechanic must purchase a new engine and reinstall it in the aircraft.

The wings and airframe are made of aluminum. The aircraft also includes an elevator, rudder, and ailerons for frontal and rear pulls, lifts, and weighting. Regarding electronics, the aircraft uses a fly-by-wire system—in other words, the pilot inputs transmit as electronic signals into a flight control computer, then onto the ailerons, elevators, rudder etc., rather than relying on mechanical connections. The multifunctional display in the K-8W cockpit is full glass, with the aircraft canopy constructed of plastic. There are two seats—rear and front—for pilot and co-pilot.

The front and back seats of the aircraft are ejection seats. These seats can even be ejected at zero speed, zero level situations when the aircraft is grounded. Therefore, safety pins must be installed into the seats when the aircraft are immobile on the ground to prevent accidental ejection. Once pilots are seated and ready to fly, ground crew remove the safety pins before take-off. In an emergency, pilots can pull the center ring attached to the ejection seat between their legs (the firing handle) to eject. If the seat does not eject after pulling the firing handle, pressing a button on the right armrest, called the hang fire, can also enable the ejection of the seat. In every ejection seat there are 28 cartridges for the pilots which are serviced every two years and six years.

There are two parachutes in each ejection seat—one for the pilot and one for the seat itself. When pilots eject, the ejection gun on the back of their seats push through the canopy, and both the seats and pilots are ejected out of the plane. Within seconds of this occurring, a seat’s parachute will open, and the pilot and their seat will be separated from each other. Following that, the pilot’s parachute will open. Due to the presence of front and rear seats on the aircraft, when ejecting, the pilot sitting in the rear seat must eject first.

The K-8W pilots must wear G-suits to withstand the force of gravity, and K-8W aircraft fly according to their designated duty schedules. The mechanical crew must also conduct inspections before and after flying. Pilots are required to sign the Air 1001 logbook (from relevant crew members) to confirm that all is in working order with the aircraft. The aircraft is then checked before flying. When pilots inspect an aircraft, they check the tires for tread to ensure proper take-off and landing; the aircraft’s assault covers throughout the plane are checked to see whether they are opened or locked. Even when an aircraft is in flight, there are flight safety officers on rotational duty who are accountable for the safety of the airplane and said safety officers are required to report any irregularities to the squadron commander.

The empty weight of a K-8W is 2,857 kilograms. The internal fuel capacity of the aircraft is 780 kilograms. The take-off weight for the K-8W is 3,800 kilograms with the maximum recommended take-off weight being 4,200 kilograms. The maximum weight of pilots is 70 kilograms. To fly longer distances, a 300-liter drop tank may be attached. The maximum speed of the K-8W is 800 kilometers per hour. The K-8W aircraft are not safe for all weather and must avoid rain, overcast conditions, and heavy cloud coverage; however, they are able to be utilized within a temperature range from -40°C to 52°C.

To start the K-8W jet engine, the aircraft is first powered by a power car, whereby the starter motor is started. Once the starter motor is up and running, only then can the main engine start. During this process, ground crew must stand by with fire extinguishers on hand, and in front of the plane, marshallers are positioned to signal the pilot. During this process, the ground crew must tap the wingtip if any emergency situations arise, and this is how the pilot is informed of any irregularities with the aircraft.

The designated fuel consumption rate for the K-8W aircraft is set at 160 gallons per hour. When the weather is fair, the normal flight rotation for a squad of K-8Ws, i.e. a group of 3-4 aircraft, is 10-16 times in the air. K-8Ws are flown at night only twice a year on average. They are able to stay in the air for approximately 4.5 hours without needing to land.

Human Resources & Corruption

Pilots are allocated flight airtime but only fly for about three quarters of the allocated time. For example, if allocated for one hour of flight time, they will fly for only 45 minutes of the designated hour, and conserve 15 minutes of fuel. This excess fuel, accounted for in the paperwork as having been burned, but in fact not actually being used, is then sold. In the air force, the sale of this excess fuel is called the “weekly fee”. Every week, air force staff sell off K-8W stolen fuel and distribute the earnings across air bases. Soldiers involved include the Headquarters Commander, Deputy Headquarters Commander, Engineering Commander, Administrative Commander, Squadron Commander, pilots, engineering officers and soldiers, and so on. The weekly income from this racket for the lowest-ranked soldiers is approximately 16,000 Myanmar Kyat. In comparison, an engineering officer’s weekly income from the stolen fuel would be about 500,000 kyat. When night flights are conducted, excess fuel sales and earnings usually double. Every month, headquarters request fuel sales receipts from the different squadrons.

Approximate weekly incomes for each rank within jet squadrons involved in fuel sales in 2020 were as follows:

• Commander: 6 to 8.3 million kyat.
• Deputy Commander: 2 to 3.3 million kyat.
• Sub-squadron Commander: 1 to 1.6 million kyat.
• Instructor/senior pilots: 0.5 to 1 million kyat.
• Engineering Officer: 500,000 to 1 million kyat.
• Warrant Officer: 200,000 to 300,000 kyat.

The approximate weekly incomes for each rank within helicopter squadrons involved in fuel sales in 2020 were as follows:

• Commander: 3 to 4 million kyat.
• Deputy Commander: 1 to 1.6 million kyat.
• Sub-squadron Commander: 500,000 to 800,000 kyat.
• Instructor/senior pilots: 300,000 to 500,000 kyat.
• Engineering Officer: 300,000 to 500,000 kyat.
• Warrant Officer: 100,000 to 150,000 kyat.

The amounts earned are, of course, dependent on fuel price fluctuations. But regardless, there is corruption within every rank of the air force. When requisitioning and collecting fuel for the aircraft, the No. 674 Internal Demand and Issue and No. 675 External Issue and Receive vouchers are used along with the Squadron Commander’s signature.

Training and Postings

Engineering subjects are taught at the Ground Training Air Force Base Headquarters in Meiktila. For aircraft repairs, the engineering military personnel must train in different subjects such as engines, airframes, armament, electrical, ratios, radar, and so on. Depending on the subject, they train as Grade 3 trainees (for six months), Grade 2 trainees (for two months), and Grade 1 trainees (for approximately three months), and so on. Following that, they must learn about quality control, known as ‘PC’ and ‘QC’. Individuals are then posted to different stations, but engineering personnel only want to serve at squadrons with the highest fuel allocations, for more income from the corrupt fuel sales. The majority of graduate trainees are posted to stations according to how good their grades were during training, with higher grades meaning better fuel allocations. Different variables affect the fuel allocation of an airbase, for example the number of aircraft in use at a base; a Grob training aircraft has different fuel allocations to a K-8W training aircraft, and therefore, its potential for profits from siphoning fuel also differs.

Pilots are trained at the Aviation Training Air Force Base Headquarters in Meiktila. Pilots-in-training must do their training in simulators prior to operating actual aircraft. After simulation training, they train in German-manufactured Grob aircraft until they can operate them solo and independently. Following this, dependent on their exams and training results, the pilots are then trained in different aircraft. These include helicopters, transport aircraft, and fighter jets. Those who achieve the highest marks in the exams can become jet fighter trainees. Helicopter trainee pilots are trained in Bell 206 helicopters. Those trained in transport aircraft carry out their training in Y-12 aircraft, and fighter jet trainees use K-8W airplanes in their training. The Meiktila headquarters base turns over approximately thirty pilots every year.

One of the pilot training courses is called the Operation Converting Unit and is conducted at the Zayatkone training grounds in Meiktila. For the first week of training, dummy rounds are used, meaning that there is no actual live ammunition carried on the aircraft. In succeeding weeks, training bombs and concrete-replica bombs are used during training. When these planes are used for shooting at a target, they will first circle the target; it is upon the second circuit around the target that they will actually shoot. To ensure safety during training, the ground safety officer is responsible for training ground security. Following the abovementioned training, pilots then carry out long-range flight training, known as “navigation flights”, which utilize an extra two fuel drop tanks.

Air Force Base Headquarters

I would like to inform readers of some air force base abbreviated names and what they refer to. In order to remember the abbreviated names of the air bases, a sort of combined acronym-acrostic mnemonic was created in the air force: la da nau sae ta min kyi hote pe lar mae.

• la: Mingaladon Aircraft Manufacturing and Repairs HQ (lahtaka)
• da: Mingaladon Air Force Base Headquarters (dalakha)
• nau: Myitkyina Air Force Base Headquarters (nalakha)
• sae: Namsan Air Force Base Headquarters (salakha)
• ta: Taungoo Air Force Base Headquarters (talakha)
• min: Myeik Air Force Base Headquarters (malakha)
• kyi: Magway Air Force Base Headquarters (kalakha)
• hote: Homalin Air Force Base Headquarters (halakha)
• pe: Pathein Air Force Base Headquarters (palakha)
• lar: Meiktila Aviation Training Air Force Base Headquarters (lathaka)
• mae: Meiktila Ground Training Air Force Base Headquarters (lamata)

In recent years leading up to the coup, with the expansion of the air force, more air bases—for example, Lashio, Bhamo, Kyaukhtu, Nay Pyi Taw, Sittwe, and so on, and all of these with their own sub-bases—have been added to the initial list of air bases mentioned above. Pilots and engineering military personnel must serve at airbases that they are posted to after their training has been completed.

K-8W Armaments

The K-8W uses a gun pylon with 23-millimeter cannon guns. There are five attachment points with a maximum loading weight of 1,000 kilograms. Four of those attachment points are under the wings, with one under the central fuselage section. The aircraft can also use 57-millimeter unguided rocket plug types. These pods can be attached on both wings, and each pod can house 24 rockets. In terms of bombs, the planes mostly use 120-lb. and 250-lb. bombs. The fuze used on these bombs is the fuse bomb nose FBN 742 fuse. Additionally, I have also seen the use of incendiary bombs that were manufactured by Myanmar’s military Defense Production Corps. These incendiary bombs were tested by the K-8Ws at Aviation Training Air Force Base Headquarters. Following this, they were tested at the Myitkyina air base before being used on the front lines.

Bomb Codes

The quality checking of bombs stored by the air force is carried out annually by the munitions inspection team from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense (Air Force). These bombs are classified as:

• Serviceable bombs: bombs stored for further use;
• Unserviceable bombs: bombs that must be detonated because they contain expired explosives or are not up to standard;
• Unclassified bombs: bombs that have not been inspected for further use or for detonation.

Reports on bomb detonations must be sent to the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense (Air Force) monthly, quarterly, and biannually. Bombs used are denoted by codenames. For example, 500-lb. bombs are called “MAB.10D3”, rockets are denoted as “MAR. code number”, and so on. Some other examples are:

• MAB.5A3 = 28-lb. bomb
• MAB.5B3 = 80-lb. bomb and 120-lb. bomb
• MAB.5C3 = 250-lb. bomb
• MAB.10D3 = 500-lb. bomb

Cluster Munitions

The K-8W aircraft regularly drop cluster bombs (a collection of bomblets). As seen in a Facebook video at the end of May 2022, cluster bombs detonated over southern Kalay Township. It can be seen to be a cluster bomb because the shell of the bomb was still largely intact. The cluster bomb casing split open in mid-air, with copper cone bomblets then emerging from the main bomb casing.

High explosive bombs detonate into many pieces as soon as they hit the ground, and so, the military cannot use them very accurately. When pilots drop bombs from high altitudes, it is difficult to hit targets. For example, if an aircraft can only hold two 250-lb. bombs at a time, it is difficult for pilots to hit their targets in just one trip. So, the military tends to use cluster bombs over high explosives. These cover larger areas in blanket indiscriminate attacks, hitting anyone in the target area, whether resistance forces or civilians. This inhumane strategy is being used by the military to kill civilians. Furthermore, cluster bomblets can sometimes submerge themselves under soft, muddy, or wet soil. In such instances, said cluster bomblets have a chance of later detonating when disturbed.

Aircraft Military Operations

K-8W aircraft were previously painted red and white, as they are designated training aircraft. According to international air law, training aircraft are not permitted to be used in wars. So, the air force has now painted them blue, to use them in conflict operations.

Every night, during operations, relevant military personnel responsible for ammunition must clean the gun and rocket pods that are attached to each aircraft. After that, guns, bombs, rockets, and so on are inserted into the cleaned pods ready for use. When loading ammunition, for example, if using 23-millimeter cannons loaded with 100 high explosive rounds, after every 10 rounds, a high explosive incendiary tracer round must be loaded in order to ensure that pilots are able to see where they are shooting.

Normally, when conducting surveillance and bombing missions, these operations start at around 1 a.m. with the loading of guns, bombs, rockets, and so on, with flight times starting at around 3 a.m. During emergency operation periods, the operations may run both day and night if the weather is favorable.

Previously, K-8W aircraft were based at the Myitkyina, Taungoo, and Shante air bases, and were operational in the areas of Bhamo, Keng Tung, and Kyaukhtu towns, and in Rakhine State. As of 2022, during this revolutionary period, the planes are being used for surveillance operations in Sagaing Region, for bombing missions in Karen State, and for attacking civilian targets.

In Myanmar, there are many runways for aircrafts as well as routes for aircraft fuel transportation. Additionally, during the era when Than Shwe was military dictator, the roads built around Nay Pyi Taw were constructed with possible military intent so that if required, they could also be used as runways. Traditional aircraft, of course, cannot take off and land without a runway. Therefore, revolution forces operating close to conflict areas should destroy these runways.

When the United States attacked Iraq, they used long-range missiles to destroy aircraft runways, as well as fuel and gas storage units that were militarily critical. Following this strategy, the people should destroy Myanmar military runways by attaching mines and bombs to drones to do the same. Additionally, underground forces operating close to military air bases should constantly be on the lookout for aviation fuel trucks. By halting the transport of aviation fuel onto the air bases, civilian deaths as a result of aerial bombardments may be prevented.

Potential Strategies

It is almost impossible to stop an incoming aircraft from bombing a location in its sights from the ground. Therefore, in order to reduce air bombings, attacking and destroying air bases where military aircraft are grounded is the best strategy. Here, I would like to provide an example. The National Unity Government (NUG) made an announcement stating that if pilots (with their aircraft) joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), they would be rewarded the sum of one billion Myanmar Kyat. Although the NUG would then own the aircraft, there would still be many challenges in reusing it to attack the military—such as runways, fuel, having experienced air force crew personnel to manage said planes, other logistics, and so on. Instead, the NUG could use this money to acquire air base maps from CDM soldiers and watermelons.¹ With this intel, the NUG could then attack the military air bases and destroy a larger number of aircraft. Additionally, the NUG could also target and destroy air base bomb storage units and munitions storage units.

Defense Against Air Strikes

Firstly, to defend against K-8W attacks, one requires ground-to-air missiles. Secondly, these fighter jets do their utmost to avoid hitting external objects while flying, such as birds, so you could release air balloons or drones to interfere with the planes while they are in mid-air. This could cause the aircraft to miss its target or even crash, should a foreign object hit its jet engines; similarly, a fighter jet hitting a drone at a certain speed could easily crash. However, having said this, these tactics are not easy to carry out. Revolutionary forces could also use 0.5-cannon guns from areas that are out of the fighter jet’s field of range. Lastly, as previously mentioned, military aircraft mostly circle their targets before shooting—only shooting at targets on their second circuit. Therefore, those who find themselves within the target range as the planes are making their first circuit should retreat to an underground bomb shelter if possible; if you are a fair distance from a bomb shelter, you could seek shelter in the side of a mountain or a ravine that is far away from the attacking plane’s flight circle path.

Endnotes

¹ Soldiers who are “green” on the outside (i.e., military) yet “red” on the inside (i.e., in support of the revolution).