“Dronefall” Reaches a New Level — Dozens of Shaheds Downed by Ukrainian Army

This spring, the Come Back Alive Foundation invested in countering Shahed drones by purchasing specialised equipment under the “Dronefall” initiative. Now the first results are evident: the military reported the downing of 17 Shahed-type UAVs and 30 Gerbera-type UAVs — a cheaper analogue to the Shahed.

“Dronefall” is a project provided by the Come Back Alive Foundation aimed at shooting down 3,000 Russian reconnaissance and strike drones.

Countdown to the First Drones Downed

In March, a countdown timer appeared on the Come Back Alive Foundation website, marking the moment when the Foundation’s team decided to supply the first eight brigades with interceptor drones as a pilot effort specifically for downing Shaheds.

“As a Foundation, we invest not only in equipment but also in training and performance analysis for each project. This allows us to be confident that the number of intercepted Shaheds will continue to grow. When we launched Dronefall, it began with just a few drones taken down — now, less than a year later, we’re counting in the thousands. The project is scaling up, along with the number of lives saved and the financial damage inflicted on the enemy,” — says Taras Chmut, Director of Come Back Alive Foundation.

Through “Dronefall”, we are building an ecosystem that works in conjunction with equipment received from the state, other foundations and volunteers. The project now includes 88 brigades. The Foundation analyses the needs of each unit and supplies whatever is lacking — FPV drones, pickups, vans, communication and power equipment etc.

“Dronefall’s” Goal — Every Russian Drone

In total, more than 2,000 UAVs have been shot down thanks to the Dronefall initiative. These include ZALA, Orlan, Supercam, Lancet, and over a dozen other types of reconnaissance and strike drones. The estimated damage to the enemy stands at 133 million EUR or 6.4 billion UAH, while the cost of the equipment provided by the Foundation amounts to 9 million EUR or 464 million UAH.

Using upgraded FPV drones against Russian UAVs significantly reduces the financial burden on the state, as it avoids the need to deploy expensive air defence missiles.

In addition, service members receive training funded by Come Back Alive Foundation. In particular, specialised military training is available at the “Yatagan School”, run by the Foundation.

You can learn more about how “Dronefall” works on the project’s official page. You can also donate to help down Shahed drones via the link.