Direct proof of use
The Shark UAV is documented in Ukrainian service during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War through transfer records and field-use reporting. Come Back Alive and OKKO launched an initiative in November 2022 to buy 25 Shark reconnaissance UAS packages for Ukrainian units, and the foundation said the systems would be assigned according to front-line needs, including reconnaissance battalions, special forces, and artillery-adjustment units.
Ukrspecsystems reported on 11 September 2023 that all 25 Shark reconnaissance complexes purchased through the Come Back Alive and OKKO project had been handed over to military users. Come Back Alive later said the transferred package consisted of 75 UAVs and that the systems were operating with artillery brigades, reconnaissance battalions, marine, mechanized, military-intelligence, and technical-intelligence users.
Sources: Come Back Alive OKO ZA OKO Launch, Ukrspecsystems 25 Shark Handover, Come Back Alive Shark Results
Timeline
The public record begins with the November 2022 fundraiser and procurement plan, followed by a September 2023 manufacturer report that the 25 complexes had been handed over to the military. In August 2024, Come Back Alive published operational results attributed to the 25 Shark systems, describing them as still active after losses and damage to individual airframes.
Later incident reporting identified specific battlefield roles. Army Recognition reported that May 2023 footage showed a Shark from the 43rd Separate Artillery Brigade adjusting strikes on a Russian Yastreb-AV counter-battery radar near Yenakiieve. UNITED24 Media reported in June 2025 that a Shark operating with the 150th Reconnaissance and Strike Battalion detected Russian Osa and Strela-10 air-defense systems during combat operations in Donetsk region.
Sources: Come Back Alive OKO ZA OKO Launch, Ukrspecsystems 25 Shark Handover, Come Back Alive Shark Results, Army Recognition Yastreb-AV Strike, UNITED24 Donetsk Air Defense Report
Narrative
In Ukrainian service, Shark functions as a reconnaissance and targeting-support UAS rather than a strike munition. The sources describe it locating targets, monitoring Russian movements, and supporting artillery or other strike assets; they do not describe the Shark itself carrying a weapon in these incidents.
Come Back Alive's August 2024 summary attributed detection and destruction support to the 25 systems across artillery, air-defense, vehicle, radar, communications, engineering, command, and ammunition-depot target sets. The same report placed Shark activity in defense operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions and stated that all 25 complexes continued to operate despite damaged or lost UAVs.
The most specific public incidents are target-detection and fire-adjustment cases in eastern Ukraine. The Yastreb-AV report connects a Shark from the 43rd Separate Artillery Brigade to observation and adjustment of strikes on a Russian counter-battery radar, while the Donetsk air-defense report connects a Shark from the 150th Reconnaissance and Strike Battalion to detecting Osa and Strela-10 systems before their destruction.
Sources: Come Back Alive Shark Results, Army Recognition Yastreb-AV Strike, UNITED24 Donetsk Air Defense Report
