Ukraine uses heavy drone to fly wounded soldier off front

Ukrainian troops have flown a wounded soldier off the front line with a heavy multirotor drone, in what the unit that organized the mission called the world’s first aerial evacuation of a casualty from the battlefield.

The operation was carried out by the unmanned ground systems company of Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault Brigade, working with other units and drone maker Gurzuf Defence, the brigade said on social media. The wounded soldier, an infantryman from the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade, survived and is now receiving treatment and rehabilitation, and his life is no longer in danger, according to the unit. The brigade did not say when or where the evacuation took place.

The soldier was hit while holding a position that could not be reached by the uncrewed ground vehicles Ukrainian units now routinely use to pull out wounded troops. Russian drones were highly active over the area and the ground around the position was mined, the brigade said, leaving no safe route for a ground vehicle.

Instead, the team turned to a heavy hexacopter from Ukrainian manufacturer Gurzuf Defence, a type normally used as a bomber drone to drop munitions, which the company provided free of charge. Specialists from the 92nd Brigade’s company worked with the manufacturer to modify the aircraft so it could carry a person while staying stable in the air, without flipping or swinging excessively, and tested the setup at sites provided by Gurzuf Defence before planning the mission with neighboring units.

A drone operator from the 30th Brigade flew the aircraft during the evacuation itself. The brigade credited the 92nd and 30th brigades, the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade, the 10th Army Corps and Gurzuf Defence for making it possible.

“This is a historic event, at least for our unit for sure,” said Napalm, a squad leader and programmer in the 92nd Brigade’s unmanned ground systems company, who was identified only by his call sign. The quote was translated from Ukrainian.

The brigade did not disclose the drone’s specifications, how far the soldier was carried, or how the casualty was secured to the aircraft. In the footage it published, the drone itself is blurred out, a step Ukrainian units take to keep a system’s configuration and control equipment secret so that Russian forces cannot develop ways to jam or suppress its control link.

Heavy drones have been used to lift people in civilian emergencies such as floods and fires in parts of Asia, but moving a wounded soldier by air from a front-line position under enemy drone surveillance is a new step for Ukraine’s military. Until now, Ukrainian units have relied mainly on ground drones and armored vehicles for casualty evacuation, because helicopters cannot safely operate near the front and the constant presence of Russian reconnaissance and attack drones makes it extremely dangerous for medics to reach the wounded on foot.