Ukrainian drone extracts two wounded soldiers from 30 km kill zone
The 475th Regiment used the StarGate aircraft to retrieve troops injured in areas where ground access was blocked by terrain and enemy fire.
By Julian Vargas ·
Ukrainian forces have successfully extracted two wounded soldiers from the front line using a specialized aerial evacuation drone.
The 475th Separate Assault Regiment, also known as CODE 9.2, conducted the rescues over the past week. The victims were 25-year-old Yevhen, callsign Izium, and 24-year-old Artem, callsign Kolobok. Both men suffered severe limb injuries and were trapped in the grey zone, roughly 5 km from the Russian border.
Ground teams could not reach the soldiers because of difficult terrain, water obstacles, and active enemy FPV drone threats. The unit stated that aerial evacuation was the only viable method to save them. The military spent a week coordinating these complex missions with SkyFall, the manufacturer of the StarGate drone. Heavy Vampire attack drones suppressed Russian positions to provide fire support for the operations.
During one mission, the StarGate drone traveled nearly 30 km to reach the soldier and covered the same distance on the return trip with the patient on board. Russian forces actively deployed electronic warfare systems in the area to disrupt satellite navigation signals. The drone used an AI-based navigation system to maintain its course and complete the mission despite the loss of GPS data.
Oleksandr "Flint" Nastenko, the regimental commander, said the experience gained from these missions will help the unit establish a dedicated medical aviation division. He explained that this new division will specialize in evacuating wounded soldiers by air. SkyFall previously handed the StarGate drone to the military for frontline testing.
The StarGate aircraft has a range of up to 30 km and can carry a payload of up to 150 kg. It is fitted with a medical capsule containing a stretcher for casualty evacuation. The remotely operated drone reaches a maximum speed of 105 km/h. Its AI systems allow it to function effectively without GPS and in the face of electronic warfare interference. On October 19, Ukrainian forces also evacuated a wounded soldier using a drone made by Gurzuf Defence in a similar first-of-its-kind operation.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
