Crewless air rescue | Ukraine evacuates wounded people by drone for the first time

The German army is also testing the rescue of wounded people with a heavy hexacopter. Unlike in Ukraine, the soldiers in the aircraft are surrounded by a shell. Photo: Avilus The Ukrainian army says it has rescued a wounded soldier from a frontline position for the first time using an aerial drone. As the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade announced on the short message service Telegram, an infantryman from another brigade was wounded at his position. A rescue team on foot would have endangered the soldiers involved. An evacuation with ground-based unmanned vehicles, which are now increasingly used in Ukraine, was also not possible due to the activity of Russian drones and mined terrain.

According to the brigade, a heavy hexacopter from the Ukrainian manufacturer Gurzuf Defense was used, which probably provided it free of charge. The aircraft with six rotors, originally developed as a bomber, was equipped with a winch to which the soldier attached himself.

Several units are said to have been involved in the preparation and implementation. The drone will reportedly weigh around 98 kilograms and can carry up to 90 kilograms of payload. The manufacturer estimated the flight distance at 62 kilometers; the device is said to have taken one hour and 14 minutes. The information cannot be independently verified.

Ukrainian ground robots are said to have carried out over 100,000 logistics and evacuation missions this year. However, the systems are not suitable for mass air rescue, warned Gurzuf Defense co-founder Pavlo Feldblium, according to the Ukrainian newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda. Each operation must be planned individually.

A few days before the supposedly first crewless air rescue at the front, it became known that Ukraine was testing the “Stargate” drone from the Ukrainian manufacturer Skyfall for such missions. The hexacopter, which is also very heavy, carries a stretcher under the fuselage and is said to have a payload of around 150 kilograms. According to the manufacturer, it reaches speeds of up to 105 kilometers per hour and can fend off enemy drones with a jammer and safety net. An AI system should maintain control even if satellite navigation fails.

The US Army tested an unmanned helicopter in 2016 and a tandem rotor drone for rescuing wounded in 2019. Closer to the Ukrainian hexacopter concept is the US drone “Flowcopter,” which is intended to carry around 100 kilograms and fly more than 95 kilometers. The US Army is said to have used them in the large-scale “Saber Strike” exercise in Poland this year.

In Germany, the army is currently testing the “Dronevac” system, which a research group at the Technical University of Munich developed together with the Bundeswehr. It is manufactured by the Bavarian company Avilus and consists of the “Grille” aircraft and a mobile ground station.

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