Efficiency of FPV drone use by AFU, Russian forces – 20-40% – Ukrainian military

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The efficiency of FPV drone use in various units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, as well as among the Russian forces, is 20-40%.

This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by the commander of the separate regiment of strike unmanned aerial systems Madiar's Birds, Robert Brovdi (by the alias of Madiar).

"Electronics may fail, and the drone won’t explode; it can detonate en route; a significant percentage is suppressed by various electronic warfare systems, and some are shot down with small arms. Therefore, the efficiency of FPV drones in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and among Russians is 20 to 40%," he explained.

According to Madiar, this figure specifically refers to cases where a drone reached its target, struck it, and the impact was recorded. The regiment's statistics are compiled based on this data using their own methodology.

"We have our own accounting system at the unit level without any orders from the command. We do this for ourselves. I can review any month, analyze the crew’s efficiency, quantitative and qualitative performance, and the types of targets – whether they are moving or stationary," Madiar said.

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The commander of Madiar’s Birds regiment emphasized that detailed accounting helps assess the efficiency of drones and crews, which is essential for targeted spending and the proper distribution of UAVs among units.

"We can assess the actual number of operational drones to distribute them properly. Some were procured at the beginning of the war and have already lost effectiveness or are technologically outdated. Yet the state continues to purchase them, pilots receive them, but the list of hit targets does not grow," Brovdi explained.

As Ukrinform previously reported, National Guard officer Dmytro Finashyn revealed that Russia is actively scaling up the use of FPV drones with fiber-optic control, which poses significant challenges for Ukrainian defenses. These drones are not affected by electronic warfare systems and demonstrate high efficiency in combat conditions.