II. International Legal Framework and Analysis
72
Model
Manufacturer
Type
Description
Events
F-7IIK (J-7)
Chengdu
Aircraft Industry
Corporation, a
subsidiary of
AVIC246
Fighter
Chinese-built MiG-21
variant. Single-engine,
lightweight interceptor
fighter capable of air-to-air
combat and limited ground
attack.247
On June 10, 2025, a resistance
group, the People’s Liberation
Army (PLA), claimed that they
shot down a Myanmar junta’s
F-7 in Sa Par Sayt village, Pale
Township, Sagaing Region, while
the Myanmar state media blamed
engine failure. Myanmar Witness
open-source analysis confirmed
the wreckage as a Chinesemanufactured Chengdu F-7
fighter jet.248
Jiangxi Hongdu
Aviation Industry
Group, a subsidiary
of AVIC (jointly
manufactured
with Pakistan
Aeronautical
Complex)249
Light Attack
Originally designed as a
two-seat trainer, the K-8
jets (including later K-8W
variants) are light attack
aircraft capable of carrying
bombs, rockets, and a
23mm cannon pod.250
Myanmar first received
12 K-8 jets in 1998-1999,
around 50 in 2010, and six
K-8W, an improved variant,
in 2015.251
On November 11, 2023, the
Karenni forces shot down one
of the junta’s K-8W fighter jets
in Hpruso Township, Karenni
State.253
Hongdu JL-8
(exported as
K-8W)
Ground Attack
Reconnaissance
Trainer
During the 74th anniversary
of the Myanmar Air Force
on December 15, 2021, the
state media, Myanmar Radio
and Television Broadcasting,
reported that K-8W aircraft
are produced at Military
Heavy Industry No. 10 in
Meiktila under license from
the CATIC.252
246 Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, “Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group,” website, https://www.businesshumanrights.org/en/companies/chengdu-aircraft-industry-group/. See also, Justice for Myanmar, #Airbusted, pp. 1718.
247 Airforce Technology, “J-7 / F-7 Fighter Aircraft,” July 17, 2020, website, https://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/
j7f7fighteraircraft/?cf-view.
248 Centre for Information Resilience (Myanmar Witness), “MAF F-7 Aircraft Crashes in Pale, Sagaing,” June 16, 2025, website,
https://www.info-res.org/reports/maf-f-7-aircraft-crashes-in-pale-sagaing/.
249 Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, “Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry Group Co Ltd,” website, https://www.
business-humanrights.org/en/companies/jiangxi-hongdu-aviation-industry-group-co-ltd/. See also, Justice for
Myanmar, #Airbusted, pp. 13-15.
250 Centre for Information Resilience (Myanmar Witness), “K-8,” website, https://www.info-res.org/myanmar-witness/
guides/k-8.
251 Ibid.; Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation, Deadly Traffic: China’s Arms Trade with the Sudan,
August 01, 2008, https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/92130/080606PBChinaArmsTrade.pdf, p. 2; “Burma Buys 50 Fighter
Jets From China,” The Irrawaddy, June 15, 2010, https://www2.irrawaddy.com/article.php?art_id=18726. See also, “缅甸
空军服役6架中国造K-8新机 [Six New Chinese-Made K-8 Aircraft Enters the Service of the Myanmar Air Force,” Huanqiu,
February 28, 2015, https://m.huanqiu.com/gallery/9CaKrnQhbN4.
252 “တပ််မတော်�်�(လေ�)၏ ဖွဲ့့��စည်းး�တည််ထော�ာင််မှု(ု ၇၄)နှှစ်မြော��
် ာက်် နှှစ်ပတ်
်
လ
် ည််နေ့့� အခမ်းး�အနား�းနှှင့် �် လေ�ယာာဉ်၊ ရဟတ််ယာာဉ်များ�း� တပ််တော်�်�ဝင််အခမ်းး�အနား�း
ကျျင်းး�ပ [The 74th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Tatmadaw (Air Force) and the Induction Ceremony of Aircraft
and Helicopters were Held],” MRTV, December 15, 2021, https://mrtv.gov.mm/mm/news-132830; Myanmar Defense &
Security Institute, Changes and Adaptations in Command, Control and Strategic Aerial Operations of the Junta’s Air Force, p. 8.
253 Nayt Thit, “Thirteen Myanmar Junta Aircraft Shot Down Since Coup,” The Irrawaddy, July 5, 2025, https://www.
irrawaddy.com/news/war-against-the-junta/thirteen-myanmar-junta-aircraft-shot-down-since-coup.html.