We’ve added details of 25 more crashes of medium altitude long endurance (MALE) drones to our database since the last update in November 2023 – including details of three US drone crashes in 2023 that have only recently come to light.
Although the use of smaller ‘one-way attack’ drones has grown in prevalence alongside a huge rise in the use of FPV drones in Ukraine, the larger MALE drones – as typified by the Reaper and Bayraktar – continue to be a mainstay for many militaries. While many of the crashes of these systems are due to pilot error, mechanical/electrical failures or other technical problems, we have seen an increase in the number of these aircraft being shot down over the past year.
While it has been widely accepted over recent years that the current generation of MALE drones “are vulnerable in warfighting conflicts involving peer or near-peer adversary” as the MoD’s most recent strategy document on the issue put it (and hence arguing to “go beyond RPAS” to develop autonomous drones), we have actually seen a significant number of these drones brought down to earth by non-state groups such as the Houthis and Hezbollah over recent months.
MALE drones recently shot down by Ansar Allah (Houthis)*
| Date | Operator | Drone type | Phase/details | Location |
| May 29, 2024 | US intelligence? | MQ-9 Reaper | Mid-flight, shot down | Marib Province, Yemen |
| May 16, 2024 | US Air Force | MQ-9 Reaper | Mid-flight, shot down | Marib province, Yemen |
| Apr 26, 2024 | US Air Force | MQ-9 Reaper | Mid-flight, shot down | Off coast of Yemen |
| Feb 19, 2024 | US Air Force | MQ-9 Reaper | Mid-flight, shot down | Off coast of Yemen |
| Nov 8, 2023 | US Air Force | MQ-9 Reaper | Mid-flight, shot down | Off coast of Yemen |
*Note other downings have been claimed but not verified
MALE drones recently shot down by Hezbollah
| Date | Operator | Drone type | Phase/details | Location |
| Jun 10, 2024 | IDF | Hermes 900 | Mid-flight, shot down | Southern Lebanon |
| Jun 1, 2024 | IDF | Hermes 900 | Mid-flight, shot down | Southern Lebanon |
| Apr 22,2024 | IDF | Hermes 450 | Mid-flight, shot down | Southern Lebanon |
| Apr 6, 2024 | IDF | Hermes 900 | Mid-flight, shot down | Lebanon |
| Feb, 26, 2024 | IDF | Hermes 450 | Mid-flight, shot down | Nabatieh, Lebanon |
| Nov 5, 2023 | IDF | Hermes 450 | Mid-flight, shot down | Nabatieh, Lebanon |
MALE drones brought down by other non-state groups/States
| Date | Operator | Drone type | Phase/details | Location |
| Apr 29, 2024 | UAE | Wing Loong | Mid-flight, shot down | Shabwah, Yemen |
| Jan 18, 2024 | US Air Force | MQ-9 Reaper | Mid-flight, shot down | Diyala Province, Iraq |
| Oct 5, 2023 | Turkish Air Force | Anka-S | Mid-flight, shot down | Hasakah, Syria, |
Alongside the fact that these drones are increasing vulnerable to ground launch missile attacks, there continues to be a significant amount of crashes due to technical issues or pilot error.
Other crashes: Technical failure or pilot error
| Date | Operator | Drone type | Phase/details | Location |
| May 8, 2024 | Brazilian Air Force | Hermes 900 | Mid-flight | Brazil |
| Mar 18, 2024 | Indian Navy | Searcher | Mid-flight | Kochi, India |
| Mar 17, 2024 | US Air Force | MQ-9 Reaper | Mid-flight | Poland |
| Jan 21, 2024 | IDF | Heron 1 | Take-off | Central Israel |
| Jan 6, 2024 | Sudan Forces | Mohajer 6 | Mid-flight | Khartoum, Sudan |
| Nov 18,2023 | US Air Force | MQ-9 Reaper | Mid-flight | Off coast Somaliland |
| Nov 12. 2023 | Turkey Navy | Aksungur | Mid-flight | Northern Iraq |
| Oct 12, 2023 | Frontex | Heron 1 | Landing phase | Malta airport |
| Sep 18, 2023 | Iran | ? | Mid-flight | Gorgon, Iran |
| Sep 5, 2023 | US Air Force | MQ-9 Reaper | Landing phase | New Mexico, US |
| Aug 24, 2023 | Frontex | Heron 1 | Mid-flight | Off-coast Crete |
| Aug 22, 2023 | US Air Force | MQ-9 Reaper | Landing | Kanoya Air Base, Japan |
US Reaper drones have crashed recently in Poland, off Somaliland, New Mexico and Japan over recent months, while India, Brazil, Israel, Iran, Turkey and Sudan have also seen their MALE drones crash recently, while the European border agency, Frontex has also seen two of its large drones crash. Details of the all crashes are in our Drone Crash Database.
UK safety concerns
We continue to be concerned about plans to allow the UK’s new Protector MALE drone to fly in UK airspace. The RAF undertook a short series of ‘time critical proving flights‘ over RAF Waddington in October 2023, and a longer programme of test and training flights were due to begin in early 2024. These have clearly been delayed. From the data on drone crashes, we can see that a significant amount of problems arise in the take-off and landing phase. RAF Waddington, from where these test and training flights will be conducted, is surrounded by homes, shops, businesses and a school. A number of locals expressed great concern about this in response to a CAA consultation exercise.
Meanwhile, the US Air Force has applied to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to fly Global Hawk and/or Reaper drones from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. This will mean that these large drones will undertake remotely controlled sorties through one of the busiest air corridors in the UK.
The government asserts that there is an economic and security case for opening up UK skies to MALE drones. The CAA as airspace regulator argues that it is bound to abide by government policy. The number of crashes and accidents of these systems should, however, give real pause for thought.