The Myanmar Directorate of Defence Industries (;

BGN/PCGN BGN/PCGN romanization are the systems for romanization and Roman-script spelling conventions adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) and the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use (PCGN). The system ...

: Kagwèye Passizetyônmya Hnywan-Gyayehmuyôn; abbreviated DI), also known as Directorate of Defence Industries, Defence Product Industry and Defence Product Industries or by its Burmese name, Karkweye Pyitsee Setyoun, (Ka Pa Sa) is a state-owned enterprise that is officially part of the

Tatmadaw The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include ...

. DI is responsible for producing military equipment throughout the country for the

Myanmar Army The Myanmar Army (; ) is the largest branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar, and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The Myanmar Army maintains the second largest active force in Southea ...

, the

Myanmar Navy The Myanmar Navy (; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. With 19,000 active personnel, the navy operates more than 227 vessels. Prior to 1988, the navy was small, and its role in counterinsurgency, counte ...

and the

Myanmar Air Force The Myanmar Air Force (, ) is the aerial branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. The primary mission of the Myanmar Air Force (MAF) since its inception has been to provide transport, logistical, and close air support to the Myanm ...

. It is the only company that has monopolized firearms production.

History

The DI was established in the 1950s under the General Staff Office. The first indigenous firearm produced in Myanmar is the TZ-45, made under license as the BA52. In 1953, Heckler & Koch and Fritz Werner Industrie-Ausrüstungen GmbH cooperated with Myanmar to create a production line to made G3 battle rifles under license. The first Myanma-made G3, known as the BA63, was first produced in 1957. The use of the BA rifles ended in the 1990s when the MA-based rifles were being developed and brought into service. After a worldwide arms embargo was enacted against Myanmar after the establishment of the

State Peace and Development Council The State Peace and Development Council ( ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the official name of the Military dictatorship, military government of Burma (Myanmar) which, in 1997, succeeded the State Law and Order Restoration Council (; abbrevi ...

in the 1980s, they turned to Chinese assistance to improve its technological base. The SPDC has received covert assistance from Singapore while working with Israeli consultants by providing factory-built equipment to produce small arms. From 1983 to 1991, the country made indigenous APCs due to budgetary reasons, which consist of the BAAC-83 APC, BAAC-84 SC, BAAC-85 SC, BAAC-86 SC, BAAC-87 APC, and BAAC-87 CCC. Israel assisted Myanmar in developing its indigenous firearms manufacturing capabilities. They previously sold Uzis to the SPDC in 1991, being made locally as the BA94. Serial production of the Galils, known locally as the MA-1, MA-2, and MA-3, started in 2002 after an agreement with IMI. Production was located at Ka Pa Sa No 1 or DI-1, a factory located near Inya Lake. Ukraine signed an agreement with Myanmar in 2004 under a $US500 million contract to provide 1000 BTR-3Us. On 30 April 2008, Washington DC place sanctions on DI under Executive Order 13464 (Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Burma). In 2014, DI has constructed the BTR-3U with spare parts provided by Ukraine. According to the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau, Deutz-made engines are used in BTR-3Us in Myanma service. On 2 July 2013, Lt. General Thein Htay was sanctioned under Executive Order 13619 in targeting people closely connected between Myanmar and North Korea by the Department of the Treasury. On 17 December 2013, the Department of the Treasury placed Asia Metal Company Ltd., Soe Min Htike Co. Ltd., and Excellence Mineral Manufacturing Co. Ltd. under Executive Order 13619 because of its connections to North Korea in assisting DI to acquire construction materials to build additional facilities. In March 2019, Ukrspecexport has signed an agreement with Myanmar to deliver equipment for a production line assembly to assemble the BTR-4U APC and the 2S1U howitzer. It's reported in November 2019 that the Tatmadaw has plan to market Myanma-made military hardware for overseas sales in an appearance at the Defense & Security (D&S) show in Bangkok, Thailand. In October 2021, it's reported that a Myanma businessman named U Tun Hlaing is involved in purchasing materials that are needed for military production. DI was placed under British sanctions due to the 2021 coup as of 2022. On 20 February 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions on DI for enabling the Tatmadaw to carry out violence against civilians.

Factories

The major factories of the DI are as follows: * Weapons Factory * Machine Gun Factory * Tank Ammo Factory * Heavy Artillery Ammo Factory * Medium Artillery Ammo Factory * Small Arms Ammo Factory * Bombs & Grenades Factory * Filling Factory * Propellants Factory * Explosives Factory * Brass Factory * Tungsten Alloy Factory * Tungsten Carbide Factory Officially, Myanmar has not disclosed how many factories it has. Estimates suggest that it has less than six prior to 1988 to "more than 20" in 2011 and 25 in 2022.

Products

Tanks and armoured vehicles

* MA-MMT 40 105 mm

Light tank A light tank is a Tank classification, tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner vehicle armour, armor and a less powerful tank gun, main gun, tailored for ...

based on

2S1 The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (, "Dianthus caryophyllus, Carnation") is a Soviet Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled howitzer introduced in 1972 and is in service in Russia and other countries . It is based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mount ...

chassis (Prototype) * BTR-3U (Assembling 180 units per year) * BTR-4E (Planned for assembling) * ML-LBSh * BAAC-73 IFV/ APC (Produced between 1973 and 1989) * BAAC-83 IFV/APC (Produced between 1983 and 1989) * BAAC-84 IFV/APC (Produced between 1984 and 1989) * BAAC-85 IFV/APC (Produced between 1985 and 1989) * BAAC-86 IFV/APC (Produced between 1986 and 1989) * BAAC-87 IFV/APC (Produced between 1987 and 1989) * MAV-1 IFV (Produced between 1987 and 1993.) * MAV-2 IFV (Two variants: MAV-2 and MAV-2 MK-2. Produced between 1990 and 2000.) * MAV-3 IFV (Produced between 1990 and 2000.) * MAV-4 IFV (Produced between 1990 and 2000.) * ULARV-1 IFV (Three variants. Production started in the late 2000s) * ULARV-2 IFV (Production started in the late 2000s) * ULARV-3 IFV/APC (1 prototype) * Naung Yoe (

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of Military light utility vehicle, light, four-wheel drive Military vehicle#Military trucks, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It ...

version) IFV (Unveiled at the 61st Armed Force Day Parade, 2006)

Utility Vehicles

* Naung Yoe (

utility In economics, utility is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings. * In a normative context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish ...

version) Jeep - (Three different variants) * Innlay Jeep * DI-Tiger pick up truck * Mil-truk

Heavy Truck A large goods vehicle (LGV), or heavy goods vehicle (HGV), in the European Union (EU) is any lorry with a gross combination mass (GCM) of over . Sub-category N2 is used for vehicles between 3,500 kg and and N3 for all goods vehicles over ...

(400 units per year) * 6-ton

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

s (400 units per year)

Towed Artillery

* 105 mm

Howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

s (production started in 2006 with the help of Singaporean technicians)

Self-propelled Artillery

* 2S1U (Planning to assemble)

Multiple Launch Rocket Systems

* MAM-01 (MA-122) - 122 mm rocket artillery system. Two variants. Mass-produced since 2010. * MAM-02 (MA-240) - 240 mm rocket artillery system. Based on North Korea's M-1991 240 mm rocket artillery system.

Mortars

* 2-inch(50.8 mm) light mortar : Copy produced mortars based on British Two-inch mortar.Produced between 1950s and 1960s.Substituted with BA-series motars in 1990s. * 3-inch(81 mm) mortar : Copy produced mortars based on British ML 3-inch mortar.Produced between 1950s and 1960s.Substituted with BA-series motars in 1990s. * BA-90 81 mm mortar(400 units per year) : Production started in late 1980s.Now the production was stopped and the production was substituted with MA-8. * BA-97 (MA-6 MK-II) 120 mm mortar(50 units per year) : Production started in late 1980s. Produced as the BA-97 mortar to early 1990s. Name changed to MA-6 MK-II in the late 1990s. The only BA-series mortar still in production. * BA-100 60 mm commando mortar (400 units per year) : Production started in the late 1980s. No longer produced. Substituted with MA-9. * MA-6 120 mm extended range mortar (50 units per year) : Production started in the late 1990s. * MA-7 60 mm extended range mortar (400 units per year) : Production started in the late 1990s. * MA-8 81 mm extended range mortar (400 units per year) : Production started in the late 1990s. * MA-9 60 mm commando mortar(400 units per year) : Production started in the late 1990s.

Air Defence

* MADV : Self-propelled short range air defence system. Igla turret with 4 SA-16 missiles and a 14.5 mm

AA gun Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

fitted on a Naung Yoe. 180 units had been produced as of 2013. * KS-1M : Medium air defence system. Licensed production of HQ-12. Two GYD-1B surface-to-air missiles are fitted on the locally made Mil-truk. Production began in 2015 and one battery of KS-1M air defence system was unveiled at the 71st Armed Force Day Parade(2016).

Missiles

* SA-16 : Very short range man portable air defence system. Licensed production since 2004. According to Arms Trade RTF by

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade a ...

, 1000 SA-16s had been produced as of 2014. * GYD-1B (KS-1M) : Medium range surface-to-air missile. Based on the technology of HQ-12 missile. For locally made KS-1M medium range air defence systems. It is a little bit faster than KS-1A surface-to-air missile. The maximum range is between 50 and 75 km. * Hwasong-5 : Short range tactical ballistic missile based on R-17 Elbras ( Scud-B). In 2008, North Korea transferred Hwasong-5 (Scud-B) missile technology to Myanmar. In December 2006, South Korean press reported that

Daewoo Daewoo ( ; ; ; ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "''dae''" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerate) and aut ...

signed a deal with the Myanmar government in May 2002 to build an arms factory near

Pyay Pyay, and formerly anglicised as Prome, is the principal town of Pyay Township in the Bago Region in Myanmar. Pyay is located on the bank of the Irrawaddy River, north-west of Yangon. It is an important trade center for the Ayeyarwady Delta, Centr ...

, worth US$133.8 million. Some analysts believed that this deal included the supply of some parts for missile development in Myanmar. In 2014, China told UN monitors that North Korean-made ballistic missiles and missile-related alloy rods destined for Myanmar had been found on a ship docked in China.

Small Arms

* BA-52 : 9 mm machine gun. Produced with the Italian technical assistance. Design similar to TZ-45. Also known as Ne Win Sten. Production started between 1952 and 1953. * BA-63 : 7.62 mm

battle rifle A battle rifle is a service rifle chambered to fire a fully powered cartridge. The term "battle rifle" is a retronym created largely out of a need to differentiate automatic rifles chambered for fully powered cartridges from automatic rifles cha ...

. Licensed production of

Heckler & Koch G3 The Heckler & Koch G3 () is a selective fire, select-fire battle rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO developed in the 1950s by the German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch, in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned firearms manufacturer CE ...

. 63 refers to production started year, 1963. * BA-64 : 7.62 mm

light machine gun A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridge (firearms), cartridges of the same caliber as the othe ...

. Licensed production of

. 64 refers to production started year, 1964. * BA-72 : 7.62 mm

assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...

. Licensed production of

. 72 refers to production started year, 1972. * BA-93 (Grenade launcher) : Rifle grenade launcher. 93 refers to production started year, 1993. * BA-93 (submachine gun) : 9 mm

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...

. Licensed production of Uzi. Early version of BA-94 (MA-13) with wooden stock. 93 refers to production started year, 1993. * BA-94 (MA-13) : 9 mm submachine gun. Upgraded variant of BA-93 (machine gun). 94 refers to production started year, 1994. The name was changed as MA-13. * MA-1 MK-I : 5.56 mm

. Licensed production of

IMI Galil The IMI Galil () is a family of Israeli-made automatic rifles chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges. Originally designed by Yisrael Galili (inventor), Yisrael Galili and Yakov Lior in the late 1960s, the Galil was fir ...

. * MA-1 MK-II : Upgraded version of MA-1 MK-I with own design. * MA-1 MK-III : 5.56 mm assault bullpup rifle. Unlicensed production of QBZ-95/97. * MA-2 MK-I : 5.56 mm

. Licensed production of IMI Galil. * MA-2 MK-II : Upgraded version of MA-2 MK-I with own design. * MA-2 MK-III : 5.56 mm

bullpup A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, ...

light machine gun. Licensed production of QBZ-95/97. * MA-3 MK-I : 5.56 mm Submachine gun. Licensed production of IMI Galil. * MA-3 MK-II : Upgraded version of MA-3 MK-I with own design. * MA-3 MK-III : 5.56 mm bullpup Submachine gun. Licensed production of QBZ-95/97. * MA-4 MK-I : 5.56 mm

with grenade launcher. Licensed production of IMI Galil. * MA-4 MK-II : Upgraded version of MA-4 MK-I with own design. * MA-4 MK-III : 5.56 mm assault bullpup rifle with grenade launcher. Licensed production of QBZ-95/97. * MA-5 MK-II : 9 mm Semi-automatic pistol. Copy of

Glock Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer- framed, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military an ...

. * MA-11 5.56 mm

. Licensed production of

Heckler & Koch HK33 The Heckler & Koch HK33 is a 5.56mm assault rifle developed in the 1960s by West German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K), primarily for export. Building on the success of their G3 design, the company developed a family of small ...

. * MA-12 : 5.56 mm light machine gun. Licensed production of Heckler & Koch HK33. * MA-13 MK-II : 9 mm submachine gun. Copy of Steyr TMP. * MA-15 : 7.62 mm

general purpose machine gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for ...

. Licensed production of MG3 machine gun * MA-16 : .50-inch

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...

. Licensed production of

STK 50MG The STK 50 MG, formerly known as the CIS 50MG, is a gas-operated, air-cooled, belt-fed heavy machine gun developed and manufactured by Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS, now ST Kinetics) in the late 1980s, in response to a request by the ...

. * MAS-1 MK-I : 7.62 mm Designated marksman rifle. Production started in 2010. Copy of Zastava M76. * MAS-1 MK-II : 7.62 mm Designated marksman rifle. Production started in 2012. Copy of Zastava M91. * MAS-2 : .50inch

Anti-materiel An anti-materiel rifle (AMR) is a rifle designed for use against military equipment, structures, and other hardware (materiel) targets. Anti-materiel rifles are chambered in significantly larger calibers than conventional rifles and are employed ...

sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment, and optics, for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and sur ...

Anti-aircraft guns

* MAA-01 : 35 mm AA guns. Production of

Oerlikon GDF The Oerlikon GDF or Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannon is a towed anti-aircraft gun made by Oerlikon Contraves (renamed as ''Rheinmetall Air Defence AG'' following the merger with Rheinmetall in 2009). The system was originally designated 2 ZLA ...

with the Chinese technology assistance. * 25 mm self-propelled twin anti-aircraft guns : Two locally made 25 mm AA guns which are fitted on the locally made Mil-truk. * 14.5 mm QJG-02G AA guns : Licensed production. 50 units per year. * 12.7 mm heavy machine guns (200 units per year) * Various kinds of

Remote controlled weapon station A remote controlled weapon station (RCWS), remotely operated weapon system (ROWS), or remote weapon system (RWS), is a remotely operated light or medium-caliber weapon system, often equipped with a fire-control system, that can be installed on a ...

s for ULARV-series armoured vehicles. * Type-91 14.5 mm quad AA guns (only for the navy) * 14.5 mm DI Remote controlled weapon stations. (only for the navy)

Anti-tank weapons

* MA-10 RPG : Copy of

RPG-7 The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has t ...

. Producing 1,500 units per year. * MA-14 recoilless rifle : Copy of Chinese 82mm Type 78 recoilless rifle. * BA-84(MA-84) MK-I and MK-II recoilless rifles : Copies of Carl Gustaf 8.4cm recoilless rifle M2 and M3 (2014) MAAWS variants.

Land mines

* MM-1 mine * MM-2 mine * Unlicensed production of M14 mine * Anti-tank mine (Copy of Chinese Type-59 Anti-tank mine) * Bounding Anti-personal mine (Copy of US

M16 mine The M16 mine is a United States-made bounding anti-personnel mine. It was based on captured plans of the World War II era German S-mine and has similar performance. Description The mine consists of a cast iron body in a thin steel sleeve. A ce ...

) * MM-5 mine (copy of

Claymore mine The Claymore mine is a directional anti-personnel mine developed for the United States Armed Forces. Its inventor, Norman MacLeod, named the mine after a claymore, large medieval Scottish sword. Unlike a conventional land mine, the Claymore may ...

)

Ammunitions and Bombs

small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

(60 million units per year) * MG-1

hand grenades A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...

* MG-2 40 mm

rifle grenades A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade were thrown by hand. The practice of projecting grenades with rifle-mounted launchers was first widely used dur ...

(HEDP) for MA-4 MK-I,II,III rifles. * MG-3 40 mm launcher grenades (HE). * MG-4 40 mm launcher grenades (HEDP). * AZDM 111 A 1/2 Fuze. * MR-1 73 mm Anti-personnel rocket propelled grenades (HE) for MA-10. * MR-2 75 mm Anti-personnel rocket propelled grenades (HE) for MA-10. * 122 mm and 240 mm

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

s for MAM-01 and MAM-02. * 120/81/60 mm mortar bombs for BA-series and MA-series mortars. * 155/130/122/105/76 mm ammunition for towed guns. * 57/77/122 mm

s and up to 500 kg dumb bombs for the air force. * 14.5/12.7/25/37/40/57/76 mm ammunition for the navy.

Others

* Various kinds of scope for rifles and sniper rifles. * Telescopic sights for MA-10. * DI fire trucks(one of the variants of Mil-truk). * DI water/fuel tanker trucks(one of the variants of Mil-truk). * DI Mobile hospital truck * DI Mobile kitchen * DI Bridge layer

Known heads of DDI

* Lieutenant General Thein Htay * Lieutenant General Kan Myint Than

References

Bibliography

* * {{Military industries of the world Military industry in Myanmar Government-owned companies of Myanmar 1950 establishments in Burma Entities related to Myanmar sanctions