Myanmar army captures Ukrainian equipment near China border

The National Democratic Alliance Army rebels in Myanmar have captured numerous armored vehicles of Ukrainian origin. The machinery was intercepted near the border of China in the Shang state. This article explains the nature of this equipment and how it came to be in this region of the world.

In late October 2023, Militarnyi reported the capture of two Ukrainian-made MT-LBMSz armored carriers. While one of them was destroyed, the other remained functional. The visual condition of the operating carrier appears to be excellent based on the photos. These demonstrate that it is a model equipped with a KBA-105 Squall remote weapon station. Photos of the captured items were posted on social media on November 12.

The MT-LBMSz is an infantry fighting vehicle made in Ukraine. It's based on the MT-LB tracked tractor, initially introduced in the 1960s. The vehicle is armed with a remotely controlled KBA-105 Squall combat module.

The KBA-105 Squall module comprises a PKT 7.62 mm machine gun, an AG-17 30 mm grenade launcher, a Barrier anti-tank guided missile system, and most notably, a ZTM-1 30 mm automatic cannon. The cannon, which has been in production since the early 2000s, is remarkable due to its rate of fire of 330 shots per minute and a muzzle velocity of 3,150 ft/s. It can effectively target lightly armored vehicles up to a distance of approximately 1.24 miles and unarmored vehicles up to double that distance.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army also captured a Ukrainian-made BTR-3U armored carrier, a deep modernization of the BTR-94K vehicle. It is powered either by a Deutz BF6M1015 or a UTD-20 engine, linked to an Allison MD3066 automatic transmission.

In addition to the Ukrainian equipment found close to China's border, MAM-01 122 mm launchers (which were significantly damaged) a MAM-02 240 mm (whose condition is unknown), a Brazilian EE-9 Cascavel reconnaissance vehicle, and a towed D-30 122 mm howitzer were also claimed.

Militarnyi explains that the Kharkiv Tractor Factory committed to producing armored vehicles based on the MT-LB chassis for Myanmar a few years ago. However, Myanmar received its first MT-LBMSz sample much earlier. On record, ten such combat vehicles were delivered to Myanmar in 2007, followed by another 16 in 2009. Approximately 20 years ago, Myanmar also received nearly 10 BTR-3U vehicles.