shot down – Drone Wars UK

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. Read more →

Bayraktar TB2 reportedly shot down near Kursk, April 2022

Updated – see below

We’ve added details of another 21 crashes to our drone crash database for the first half of 2022 – although 14 of them occurred in the context of the on-going war in Ukraine, so many will have likely been shot down.

It’s important to be aware that we only include larger (Class II and Class III) drones in our database, typified by medium altitude/long endurance drones like the Reaper MQ-9 and Bayraktar TB2. There have been dozens of verified reports of smaller drones being shot down or crashing in that conflict but they are outside the scope of our study. However, it is extremely likely that other large drones have also crashed/been shot down in that conflict but have not been verified.

In addition, as we regularly try to explain, there are many crashes of large drones that simply aren’t made public and so don’t make it into our database. More on this below.

Ukraine

As in any armed conflict, there is a significant amount of disinformation and confusion surrounding on-going events. We are only including details of large drone crashes that have been verified – primarily through use of images. @robLee, @UAVTracker and @Oryx have done sterling work detailing on-going events. Significantly, older Soviet-era reconnaissance drones have also been pressed into service by both sides, with indications that they may be being used as ‘flying missiles’. One of these flew off course, crossing several European borders before crashing in the Croatian capital, Zagreb. Both Russia and Ukraine have denied responsibility. In a similar case, a Ukrainian operated Bayraktar TB2 went off course and ended up crashing off the coast of Romania.

Large UAVs crashed/shot down relating to Russia/Ukraine war (till 30th June)

Date	Operator	Drone type	Details/source	Location
Jun 28, 2022	Ukraine	Tu-143 Reys	Mid-flight (shot down)	Russia
May 10, 2022	Russian	Tu-141 Strizh	Mid-flight (shot down?)	Ukraine
May 7, 2022	Ukraine	Bayraktar TB2	Mid-flight	Romania
May 1, 2022	Ukraine	Bayraktar TB2	Mid-flight (shot down?)	Ukraine
Apr 27, 2022	Ukraine	Bayraktar TB2	Mid-flight (shot down?)	Russia
Apr 27, 2022	Ukraine	Bayraktar TB2	Mid-flight (shot down?)	Russia
Apr 25, 2022	Ukraine	Bayraktar TB2	Mid-flight (shot down?)	Russia
Apr 12, 2022	Ukraine	Tu-143 Reys	Mid-flight (shot down)	Ukraine
Apr 7, 2022	Russia	Inokhodets (Orion)	Mid-flight (shot down?)	Ukraine
Apr 2, 2022	Ukraine	Bayraktar TB2	Mid-flight (shot down)	Ukraine
Mar 30, 2022	Ukraine	Bayraktar TB2	Mid-flight (shot down)	Ukraine
Mar 17, 2022	Ukraine	Bayraktar TB2	Mid-flight (shot down)	Ukraine
Mar 11, 2022	Russia	Forpost	Mid-flight (shot down?)	Ukraine
Mar 10, 2022	?	Tu-141 Strizh	Mid-flight	Croatia

Elsewhere, during the first six months of 2022, large drones operated by the US, India, France, Saudi Arabia and Philippines air forces have crashed or been shot down. The variety of operators and types of UAVs crashing gives an indication of how difficult it is to operate these systems. Remotely controlling aircraft is incredibly complex and a huge variety of problems can arise leading to an abrupt termination of the flight, including mechanical issue, electrical failure, lost-communication link, weather problems and human error. Read more →