Burma Army’s newly installed radars are 1L117

Written by Hseng Khio Fah

Monday, 05 July 2010 18:23

Most of the ruling Burma Army radar stations are said to be installed with Russian-made
1L117s, according to Thai Burma watchers.

So far Burma has 7 radar units that have been set up in different areas in the country. The radar
stations are located at:

1. Loi Mwe, 20 miles south of Shan State East’s Kengtung under Triangle Region Command
and 82 miles north of Maesai, Thailand
2. Nat Yegan Taung in Mandalay Division, Central Region Command
3. Tada Oo in Mandalay Division, Central Region Command
4. Marit (Myeik) in Tanintharyi or Tenasserim Division, Coastal Region Command
5. Ngwe Hsaung in Irrawaddy Division, Coastal Region Command
6. Taung Nyo in Pyinmana, Naypyitaw Region Command
7. Duwun in Moehnyin, Kachin state, Northern Region Command

“Duwun is the latest one,” said a source.

According to him, the radar base at Nat Yegan Taung has to use electricity produced by the
hydropower plants for generating. “They just finished the construction of the hydropower plant
last month.”

The 1L117 radar provides a maximum range of 350 km (218.75 miles). Besides, it has the
advantages of “low cost, high reliability, simplicity and friendliness of operation control” plus
“Built-in identification ‘friend or foe’ (IFF) interrogator,” according to its catalogue.

The radar sets were transferred to the Army in Rangoon’s Thilawa dockyard in February 2009.

Another border watcher commented that these radar systems are to be used to deter external
threats and to scare ethnic groups,” he said.

In addition, the Burma Army has also put to use the UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator)
maps which allow easy and quick navigation calculations, possibly expediting the movement of

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Burma Army’s newly installed radars are 1L117

Written by Hseng Khio Fah

Monday, 05 July 2010 18:23

junta troops and has been training in another Russian-made lgla MANPADS (Man portable Air
Defense System), according to SHAN reports in January 2009.  

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