Ukraine evacuates wounded soldier from front line using drone for the first time

Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault Brigade on October 19 published a video of what it describes as the world’s first evacuation of a wounded serviceman from the front line by drone.

In the video, an infantryman straps himself to a large drone, is carried through the air at low altitude, and is lowered to the ground, where an operator tells him: “Welcome back to earth!”

The wounded soldier — an infantryman from the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade — was at his position. Due to intense Russian drone activity and mined terrain, ground-based robotic platforms could not reach him. The brigade’s specialists then decided, in their words, to “try something no one has done before: evacuate a serviceman using an aerial drone.”

The operation used a heavy hexacopter provided free of charge by Ukrainian company Gurzuf Defence. The drone was originally designed as a bomber — together with the manufacturer, the military modified it so that it could carry a person without flipping over or swaying too much. The mission was carried out by an operator from the 30th Brigade; the 14th Mechanized Brigade and the 10th Army Corps were also involved in the operation. The army has not specified when or where the operation took place, but reports that the soldier’s life is no longer in danger.

Kharkiv outlet Gwara Media, citing the Kharkiv Military Hospital, reported that the evacuation took place in the Kupyansk direction. According to the outlet, the soldier’s name is Konstantin, he is 49 years old, and both his legs were amputated after he held a position alone.

“This is a historic event, at least for our unit — that’s for sure,” said Napalm, a section commander in the brigade.

The rescue came several days after the Associated Press reported that a combat unit had received another drone for front-line testing — the StarGate, made by SkyFall and specifically designed for medical evacuation. AP was given exclusive access to a demonstration of the aircraft on October 14. The StarGate has six rotors and a cabin with a stretcher. According to the company, it can carry up to 150 kilograms, has a one-way range of 15 kilometers, and a cruising speed of 65 km/h. The drone uses Starlink together with SkyFall’s own L-Link system, as well as AI-based features intended to help it fly even when GPS is jammed. During the demonstration, it fired a net to catch an attacking drone. SkyFall estimates each system will cost at least around €45,000, and the company hopes to produce up to 1,000 such drones per month by the end of 2026.

The idea of using drones for evacuation originated with the commander of the 475th Separate Assault Regiment. One of the unit’s commanders, known by the call sign KVN, said that ground robots typically take two to three hours to reach a position. SkyFall has not published any data on how the StarGate performs in combat conditions.

“This is a completely new method of evacuation. We need to work with it more,” said KVN, adding that his unit needs at least a month of working with the StarGate to evaluate the drone.

Beyond military applications, Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky recently announced an experimental government project under which drones will transport medications between hospitals.