Russian troops, Myanmar junta forces hold small-scale joint military exercise in Naypyitaw

A group of Russian military personnel is conducting a small-scale joint military exercise with Myanmar junta forces in Naypyitaw, according to sources familiar with the programme and video footage circulating on pro-military social media accounts. The exercise, officially named the “Myanmar-Russia Joint Exercise (Tiger-2026),” began on July 6 and is scheduled to continue until July 17 at a junta air-defence unit in Naypyitaw’s Ottarathiri Township, the sources said. Around two dozen Russian officers and soldiers are taking part in the programme with a Myanmar military delegation led by Lt-Gen. Pyae Sone Lin, the junta’s chief of armed forces training. The exercise includes demonstrations of Russian-made automatic firearms, sniper rifles, drones, and other military equipment. The video footage shows Russian military personnel in camouflage uniforms alongside senior and junior Myanmar military officers. In several scenes, Russian personnel demonstrate firearms and other equipment to groups of junta officers gathered around display tables. The footage also shows drones and other military hardware on display, including unmanned ground vehicles equipped with remotely controlled machine guns. A formal ceremony, attended by personnel from both countries, was also held. Myanmar and Russian flags can be seen as the troops take part in a military parade and gather for group photographs. On Tuesday, Russian newspaper Izvestia, citing Russia’s defence ministry, reported that the programme was the first joint “training and methodological gathering” of special forces from the Russian and Myanmar militaries. In addition to tactical shooting demonstrations and the display of modern Russian-made weapons, participants were also expected to train in counter-terrorism operations, methods of countering drones, and assault tactics in tropical conditions, according to the Russian outlet. The exercise is relatively small in scale compared with previous joint activities involving the two countries, but it comes amid increasingly close military cooperation between Moscow and Myanmar’s generals. Russia has emerged as one of the Myanmar military’s most important international partners since the 2021 coup, supplying weapons and military equipment while maintaining close ties with the junta’s senior leadership. The Naypyitaw programme appears to focus largely on familiarising Myanmar military personnel with Russian weapons and equipment and sharing technical expertise, rather than involving a large-scale field exercise. Myanmar Now could not independently determine whether the equipment displayed during the programme had already been acquired by the Myanmar military or was being presented for possible future procurement.

Russian troops, Myanmar junta forces hold small-scale joint military exercise in Naypyitaw

The nearly two-week exercise includes demonstrations of Russian-made firearms, drones, and other military equipment

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