Ukraine’s Alpha Gets 25,000 Strike Drones

A tidal wave of drones has just landed in the hands of one of Ukraine’s most capable special units.

Soldiers from the Special Operations Center “A” of the Security Service of Ukraine, better known as Alpha, have received more than 25,000 drones from the Come Back Alive Foundation. According to the foundation, this marks the largest single drone transfer in its history.

The Foundation’s press service announced this on social media.

And this was not a symbolic handover with a ribbon and a handshake. It was a mass deployment of airborne firepower.

A Record Drone Delivery

The shipment includes a mix of FPV attack quadcopters and fixed wing strike drones. Among them are Ukrainian produced Baton drones equipped with FPV guidance, designed specifically for precision strike missions.

The foundation described the scale bluntly on social media: more than 25,000 drones delivered to special forces, with more on the way.

Alpha’s UAV units are already considered among the most effective in Ukraine. The charity says they consistently rank in the top three for combat performance. With this level of resupply, their operational tempo is unlikely to slow.

This delivery also reflects how central FPV drones have become to Ukraine’s battlefield strategy. Cheap compared to traditional munitions, flexible in deployment, and capable of precision strikes, they have reshaped how both sides wage war.

Deep Strike Operations

In February, Alpha forces conducted a series of FP 2 drone strikes against Russian military infrastructure deep behind the front lines.

Reported targets included four headquarters and command posts. Video footage released by the unit also showed strikes on three troop deployment sites, including special operations elements of the invading forces.

Additional hits were reported on two drone launch sites, an ammunition depot, a logistics hub, and four command and observation posts.

According to figures released by the unit, Alpha’s operations have destroyed enemy equipment valued at more than $5.5 billion.

The unit also participated in the “Web” operation in June last year, in which FPV drones reportedly struck 41 Russian strategic aircraft, with an estimated value of $7 billion.

More Than Just Drones

The Come Back Alive Foundation has played a broader role in equipping Ukrainian forces.

Last year, it donated eight 120 mm mortar systems and four Iveco trucks to the 22nd Mechanized Brigade, a package valued at roughly $280,000 and largely funded by Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s state energy operator.

In 2023, the charity also supplied 1,000 40 mm ATGL L3 grenade launchers through a fundraising campaign that raised about $4.3 million.

Alpha, formally part of the Security Service of Ukraine, is a specialized operational formation tasked with counter terrorism and other high risk missions. Since the full scale invasion, its role has expanded to include frontline and long range strike operations, particularly using drones against infrastructure and logistics targets behind enemy lines.

The scale of this latest delivery underscores a simple reality: in modern conflict, drones are no longer support tools. They are primary weapons systems. And in this case, they are arriving by the tens of thousands.

DroneXL’s Take

Twenty five thousand drones is not a donation. It is an industrial level reinforcement.

The war in Ukraine continues to demonstrate that mass produced FPV systems can generate strategic effects when paired with skilled operators and actionable intelligence.

The combination of charitable funding, domestic drone production, and battlefield innovation has created a feedback loop that keeps refining Ukraine’s drone warfare model.

For readers watching the evolution of military drone use, this is another data point in a clear trend. Scale matters. Speed matters. And in today’s battlespace, the side that can field thousands of low cost precision systems may hold a decisive edge.

Photo credit: Come Back Alive Foundation