Young Engineer 3D prints drones to fight Myanmar’s military regime

• The military in Myanmar staged an uprising against the election results in February 2021.
• The US State Department reported that since then, there have been nearly 3,000 deaths and 17,000 arrests.
• According to Wired, an engineer started printing semiautomatic weapons and drones in order to combat the military regime.

Wired magazine reported that a young engineer was producing semiautomatic weapons and drones behind his parents’ backs for a rebel force fighting against Myanmar’s military regime.

“My parents would kill if I did not obey them” [knew] “I’m not sure what I am doing,” he said to the publication.

The magazine reported that the engineer, who was only identified as 3D due to the danger of arrest and execution, has been manufacturing weapons for the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force, an insurgent force made up of young civilians like himself, ever since the takeover of the junta in February 2021.

The military in Myanmar staged a coup in 2012, after the country’s most recent democratic elections reflected a harsh rebuke of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which is backed by the military. The military claimed massive voter fraud.

According to the US State Department, as of January 2023 there were approximately 3,000 deaths, 17,000 arrests, and 1.5 million displaced people under the military rule.

After he saw military forces shooting down peaceful protesters he was inspired to join KNDF. There are more than 250 active groups of armed men in the country.

3D said to Wired, “I had to figure out a way to create weapons from scratch.”

A 3D printer and blueprints online enabled the engineer to create FGC-9s. This is a semiautomatic gun that can be 3D-printed.

3D will begin manufacturing drones in December 2022 that cost approximately $5,000.

Wired reports that the engineer was inspired to create a drone by Ukraine called The Punisher, which is a cheaply produced drone. The drone, which has a 7.5 foot wingspan, can carry up to 3 kilograms of explosives.

Wired reported that 3D’s Liberator-MK1 drone could carry explosives up to 1.5 kilograms. The drone was used on the frontlines of Myanmar. 3D has produced a second Liberator version in February.

Cheap 3D printed drones are among the few ways that rebel groups can fight effectively against a military regime with a lot of resources. According to the United Nations at least $1 billion worth of weapons and equipment has been imported.

In the modern battlefield, no place is more evident of this reliance on cheap drones than in Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces are reported to have deployed plastic foam drones, which are usually reserved for hobbyists and photographers.

These drones are only a few dollars each and have already destroyed a Russian tank that is estimated to be worth millions.