‘Come Back Alive’ Charity Makes Record Drone Transfer to Ukraine With 25,000 Systems

Soldiers from Special Operations Center “A” of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have received more than 25,000 drones from the Come Back Alive Foundation, marking the largest single drone transfer in the charity’s history.

The shipment includes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of different types, ranging from first-person view (FPV) attack quadcopters to fixed-wing systems, including Ukrainian-produced Baton drones equipped with FPV guidance for strike missions.

According to the foundation, additional deliveries are on the way.

Last year, the Come Back Alive Foundation donated a range of equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces, including eight 120-mm mortar systems and four Iveco trucks for the 22nd Mechanized Brigade.

The package, worth about $280,000, was largely funded by the state energy operator Ukrenergo.

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

The UAV units of the SBU Special Operations Center “A,” also known as Alpha, belong to a specialized operational formation tasked with counter-terrorism and other high-risk missions.

Amid the ongoing conflict with Russia, the unit has also taken part in frontline and long-range strike operations, including drone missions against military infrastructure and targets behind enemy lines, as well as key locations such as ammunition depots.

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

Official data indicate that Alpha drone teams have consistently ranked among the top-performing UAV units and participated in the “Web” operation in June last year, during which FPV drones struck 41 Russian strategic aircraft valued at $7 billion.