Russia attacked Ukraine with a record number of drones in October: direct hits account for only 5% of the total

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia used 4,300 Shahed and other types of attack drones in August, September and October 2024.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces were able to shoot down 3,063 enemy UAVs, which is 71% of the total.

The Air Force’s daily reports introduced the label “locally lost” – meaning that the drones disappeared from radar, probably as a result of active electronic warfare (EW) countermeasures or other reasons. During August-October 2024, there were 1,052 such drones, or 24%. Accordingly, direct hits by enemy UAVs account for only 5%.

It is worth noting that October 2024 was a record year for the number of enemy drones launched:

• August: 818 launched, 701 shot down, 91 locationally lost.
• September: 1,410 launched, 1,156 shot down, 201 locally lost.
• October: 2072 launched, 1206 shot down, 766 locally lost.

During May, June, and July 2024, 1,133 strike UAVs were launched, of which 1,055 were shot down and 10 were locally lost. The percentage of shootdowns during this period was about 94%.

Thus, the percentage of direct hits of enemy Shahed strike UAVs during May-July and August-October 2024 is 6% and 5%, respectively.