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With ground evacuation blocked by dense minefields and enemy FPVs, soldiers turned to a modified heavy bomber drone to lift a wounded comrade to safety.
Across the front, Ukrainian ground robots have taken over much of the dangerous work of hauling casualties from positions the medics cannot reach by vehicle. But some stretches have grown too hostile even for the robots, and units have started looking for an answer in the air.
Soldiers of Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault Brigade have now carried out what they are calling the world’s first aerial evacuation of a wounded soldier from the front line, flying him out on a heavy drone after a ground rescue proved impossible. The brigade announced the mission on Monday.
The wounded infantryman belongs to the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade and is now receiving treatment and rehabilitation, with his life no longer in danger, Ukrainian outlet ZN.ua reported.
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Why ground robots could not go
The infantryman was hit at his position, and the usual answer, a tracked ground robot, could not safely reach him. The approach was densely mined, and Russian drones were operating in strength overhead.
The brigade’s drone team instead turned to a heavy hexacopter from Ukrainian manufacturer Gurzuf Defence, a six-rotor aircraft normally fitted out as a bomber. Gurzuf Defence supplied it free of charge.
Engineers worked with the manufacturer to adapt the aircraft so it could carry a person without tipping or swinging in flight, testing the setup at the company’s own facilities before planning the mission with the 30th and 14th Separate Mechanized Brigades and the 10th Army Corps.
A new evacuation doctrine takes shape
“This is a historic event, at least for our unit for sure,” Napalm, a squad commander and programmer in the 92nd Brigade’s unmanned ground systems company, said in comments carried by Euromaidan Press. The brigade said the operation had succeeded and the wounded man had been rescued.
The flight follows months of Ukrainian work on purpose-built evacuation drones. On October 16, Ukrainska Pravda reported that Kyiv-based manufacturer SkyFall is pushing a dedicated medevac aircraft called StarGate into frontline testing, with a 150-kilogram payload and a one-way range of 15 kilometers.
A commander from Ukraine’s 475th Separate Assault Regiment had asked SkyFall’s founder for a safer way to evacuate wounded troops from hard-to-reach positions, Ukrainska Pravda reported, and the company is aiming to build up to 1,000 of the aircraft a month by the end of 2026.
