Russia loses half of artillery, third of AFVs due to Ukraine’s FPV drones

Defense Express analyzed the statistics on Ukraine’s FPV drone usage.

The statistics, released by Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, cover units from the Army of Drones project, including 17 UAV companies in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the National Guard, as well as two units from the Security Service and the State Special Communications Service.

Between October 2 and October 30, the FPV drones were responsible for destroying or damaging the following types of targets:

• Tanks: 175
• Armored combat vehicles: 235
• Artillery systems, including mortars and MLRS: 352
• Motor vehicles: 243
• Personnel: 591

When compared to the total Russian losses reported by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for the same period, the percentage of losses attributed to FPV drones is significant:

• Tanks: 36.9% of 473
• Armored combat vehicles: 30.3% of 775
• Artillery systems, including mortars and MLRS: 49.5% of 710
• Motor vehicles: 37.6% of 646
• Personnel: 2.8% of 20,860

It's worth noting that the report from the General Staff uses the term "losses," while the Ministry of Digital Transformation report uses the term "destroyed/damaged," which may account for differences in the statistics. Nevertheless, the role of FPV drones, particularly in counter-battery combat, is highly significant, accounting for almost 50% of Russian artillery system losses and one-third of armored vehicles.

• Ukrainian military destroys Russian Buk systems with 'smart' drones

• Ukrainian military gets combat training on Drone Army robotic systems, will soon use them to fight Russian army - Ministry of Digital Transformation

• Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence deploys artificial intelligence drones