The Myanmar military regime is all set to receive new Sukhoi SU-30SM jet fighters from Russia, raising fears of more civilian deaths as the junta carries out deadly airstrikes against civilians and resistance forces, reports The Irrawaddy.
Junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun said on Tuesday that coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing personally inspected the production and testing of the planes at the Irkustsk Aviation Plant during his visit to Russia this month.
“They all will be delivered soon,” said the junta chief.
Russia has been assembling the six fighter jets for Myanmar under a contract worth around $204 million that was signed in 2018.
The first two jets were delivered in March this year, so the remaining four will likely be delivered soon.
Myanmar’s military has long been a patron of Russian military hardware. Russia is also one of the few countries Min Aung Hlaing can visit, as most nations have shunned him and his regime since last year’s coup, which was followed by bloody crackdowns that have killed over 2,000 civilians so far.
Min Aung Hlaing has visited Russia three times since the military takeover.
Russia also sold $247 million worth of arms to Myanmar between 2015 and 2021.
Among the hardware purchased by Myanmar’s military are MiG-29 fighter jets, Yak-130 combat trainers, Mi-17, Mi-24 and Mi-35 combat helicopters and other weapons.
The regime’s revelation of the impending delivery of new warplanes comes as Myanmar is mourning the death of 11 schoolchildren, some as young as seven, killed last Friday in junta airstrikes and ground assaults on a school in Sagaing Region.
The arrival of new Russian SU-30M jets comes also as the junta is increasingly reliant on air power to attack resistance forces. The regime is also using airstrikes against ethnic armed organizations like the Arakan Army in western Myanmar.