Myanmar Navy

The Myanmar Navy, officially the Defence Services (Navy) (Burmese: တပ်မတော် (ရေ), romanized: Tatmadaw (Yay); pronounced), is the naval warfare branch of the Myanmar Defence Services (Tatmadaw), the combined military of Myanmar. With 19,000 active personnel, the navy operates more than 227 vessels. Its official name was Burma Navy (Burmese: ဗမာ့ရေတပ်မတော်, romanized: Bama Yay Tatmadaw) before being renamed to Defence Services (Navy) (Burmese: တပ်မတော် (ရေတပ်), romanized: Tatmadaw (Yay Tat)) in 1956. Prior to 1988, the navy was small, and its role in counter-insurgency operations was smaller than those of the army and the air branches. The navy has since been expanded to take on a more active role in defense of Myanmar's territorial waters.