Factory of Death: China’s Support for the Myanmar Military’s Production of Aerial Bombs

In January 2023 the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) published its report Fatal Business: Supplying the Myanmar Military’s Weapon Production, a study of the Myanmar military’s domestic arms production.4 Industrial-scale arms production in Myanmar is, in its entirety, a military-run affair, taking place at factories colloquially referred to as KaPaSa, after the Burmese name for the Office of the Chief of Defence Industries (OCDI), Karkweye Pyitsee Setyone, or Defence Industries (DI).5 This report arises from the earlier, more comprehensive research. It looks at one factory, DI 21, as a case study of the Myanmar military’s defence industry and its current and ongoing role in enabling the aerial bombardment – many of which may amount to serious international crimes – of the country’s civilian population. Based on leaked materials, information from human and open sources, and the technical assessment underpinning this report, SAC-M has come to a number of conclusions relating to the role of DI 21 and its contribution to the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes against the people of Myanmar. It has also come to conclusions concerning foreign support, specifically from China, for the production of aerial bombs at DI 21.

SAC-M’s conclusions include:

• Since its inception in 2004, DI 21 manufactures the main share of the OCDI’s aerial bombs, including general purpose and special purpose aerial bombs, and also manufactures domestically designed cluster munitions.

• Aerial bombs made at DI 21 continue to be used in airstrikes that likely meet the threshold of serious international crimes.

• The particular focus of this report is air-delivered fuel air explosive (FAE) bombs manufactured at DI 21.6 The manufacture of this type of wide-area effect bomb in

Myanmar is unpacked in the present report to show how foreign assistance was needed, and utilised, by DI 21 to manufacture FAE bombs, and how the same foreign company worked with DI 21 to establish production of a wide range of aerial bombs. The Myanmar Air Force has used FAE bombs on at least three separate occasions, in 2015, 2017 and 2020. These bombs were Chinese CS/BBF1 250 kg FAE bombs that were either directly imported into Myanmar, or partially, predominantly or wholly made or assembled at DI 21.7 The CS/BBF1 is manufactured by a Chinese wholly state-owned arms company, China South Industries Group Corporation (China South, CS).

• CS/BBF1 FAE aerial bombs were first showcased by China South at the 2012 Zhuhai Air Show and were transferred to Myanmar prior to 2015 when they were first used by the Myanmar Air Force. This transfer was likely coupled with a transfer of technology and technical assistance for the production of these bombs and additional aerial bombs in Myanmar. China South’s president, Tang Denjie, met with the head of Myanmar’s defence industry, Thein Htay, in September 2015, to discuss Myanmar’s cooperation with the company and the introduction in Myanmar of advanced technology and equipment from China South.
• Foreign assistance, including schematics, training and other technical assistance, was utilised for the production of FAE bombs in Myanmar. The continued production of FAE bombs in Myanmar likely requires continuing foreign support.
• Beyond the FAE bomb, a large share of the aerial bombs currently being produced at DI 21 show striking similarities with aerial bombs that are designed, manufactured and marketed by China South. Production of these bombs in Myanmar has relied on both technical and material assistance from China South.SAC-M considers it highly likely that OCDI and China South collaboration –principally implemented by China South’s fully owned subsidiary Hunan Vanguard– has entailed a transfer of technology and associated assistance for DI 21 to set up production of a wide range of aerial bombs.
• China South, through Hunan Vanguard, has played a key role in the production process at DI 21 and has been essential to establishing the majority of the factory’s current production lines. This assistance has entailed:
• The presence of engineers from China South and its subsidiaries at DI 21 between 2014 and 2019
• Munitions production training for DI 21 staff in China in 2015 and 2019
• Since 2019, the continued supply of key components and
• Since 2019, the continuation of remotely provided technical assistance.
• SAC-M has also received credible information that DI 21 staff are currently undertaking advanced studies at Chinese universities (carrying out high levels of defence research) in areas of direct applicability to aerial bomb production.
• China South is directly and wholly owned by the State Council of China, that is, the central government of China. China South’s involvement in the transfer of aerial bombs and associated technical production assistance to Myanmar would have required export control permits from state authorities and should be understood as authorised by the State Council of China.8

In attempting to put down widespread resistance to the attempted coup launched by the Myanmar military in February 2021, the Myanmar Air Force has been increasingly deployed for airstrikes on populated areas. Countrywide data confirms the use of fighter jets, helicopters and UAVs to bomb locations across Myanmar at unprecedented rates. Local researchers estimate that, in the final four months of 2023 alone, the military carried out 750 airstrikes across 11 regions in Myanmar, with an average of six airstrikes nationwide every day.9 That rate continued to increase in 2024. Aerial attacks continue even now, in the wake of the catastrophic March 2025 earthquakes. The military has used airstrikes to target homes, schools,10 hospitals,11 religious structures, and crowded markets12 resulting in civilian fatalities and mass displacement. Many of the military’s airstrikes are widely considered to be in breach of international humanitarian law and to constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.13 Companies and corporate executives that provide military support to the Myanmar junta, enable the production of aerial bombs or otherwise facilitate the airstrikes may expose themselves to the risk of criminal and civil liability.14 In October 2024, the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) noted that its investigations into the most serious international crimes committed in Myanmar also include a detailed analysis of the types and models of weapons used, how they were used and where they came from. The IIMM noted that individuals who supply weapons, knowing they could be used to commit international crimes, could be held responsible for enabling those crimes and that, by examining weapons and their origins, the Mechanism is building comprehensive cases against individuals responsible for atrocities in Myanmar.15 SAC-M encourages use of the findings in this report for justice and accountability processes targeting the identified corporate actors and their executives for their roles in enabling the junta’s production of aerial bombs. It also encourages additional research on individual DI factories and their supply chains that enable the sustained production of weapons by the military junta in Myanmar.

Download full report