According to Israel’s Homeland Security, the German Army has reported a record attrition rate of UAS in the last decade.
Total losses of the EMT Pentzberg supplied UAS were: – 56 LUNA and 23 Aladin UAS. Four examples of the AirRobot Mikado quadcopter were lost. And 18 Rheinmetall KZO Tactical UAS Systems never made it safely home to base. During the same period, the German Air Force lost two of its leased Herons in Afghanistan.
Photo: Rheinmetall KZO
Source: iHLS
Number of losses by itself is not a significant parameter. Attrition Rate, defined as Number of losses for a specific type of aircraft divided by total flying hours of that type of aircraft (fleet hours) should by quoted. Best would be then to plot the Attrition Rate as a function of fleet hours. For more details, see : “UAS Safety Objectives and Classes for Certification” – ICAO UASSG/3-Study Note No. 09 08/09/09