The equipment needed for the evacuation had also been dropped to the soldier beforehand by drones, and he had to secure himself to the winch on his own. Neighbouring units launched bomber drones to draw enemy interceptor drones away from the rescue aircraft. In the end it was a successful operation, but one that demanded enormous effort.

The rescue is nevertheless the opposite of a routine procedure. Reports describe the flight, covering a distance of several dozen kilometres, as exceptional: the passenger hung in an open harness, with no enclosed protection and no medical monitoring on board. They also say that rescue by air was attempted only because all other routes were blocked.

That would explain why an evacuation by drone was attempted at all. In a war in which the battlefield has become transparent, and in which flying systems at the front are both an omnipresent threat and a target, the chances of survival fall, particularly for large drones and their human passengers.

Evacuation drones: two Ukrainian systems

But what works once can work a second time. The Ukrainian drive for evacuation drones is therefore understandable. Yesterday the ministry named two systems developed for this purpose. The Ayudag-6, however, is not an aerial ambulance built for the job.

The drone belongs to Gurzuf Defence’s Heavy Shot series, which primarily transports cargo and munitions. The ministry gives its weight as 98 kilograms and its payload as 130 kg. A range of 15 kilometres was stated. A drone of this type is said to have carried out the successful evacuation in Ukraine, and this is where the limitation of the shorter range becomes apparent. Some reports therefore say that additional batteries were fitted specially for this version.

The second system, StarGate by SkyFall, was by contrast actually designed as an evacuation drone. The system is said to be ready for use within ten minutes. StarGate carries 150 kilograms at up to 105 kilometres per hour and also includes a medical module with a stretcher.

AI-based software allows it to plan a route on its own and return to a safe area if navigation is disrupted. According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, soldiers of the CODE 9.2 regiment have already used StarGate for two evacuations within one week.

The evacuated soldiers were reportedly five kilometres from the Russian border, where difficult terrain, water obstacles and the threat of FPV drones made a rescue on the ground impossible.

The evacuation drone relies on Starlink terminals and SkyFall’s own L-Link system. It is said to be able to fly 15 kilometres to the wounded person and back.

Timeline contradicts the ministry’s account

The Ukrainian report cites 2024 as the start of development, when the following requirements for evacuation drones were set:

• The unmanned aircraft must be able to reliably carry 130 kilograms over a distance of at least 15 km;
• To survive in an electronic warfare environment, the drones must have an integrated communication system (at least three alternative types).

Yet as early as the aftermath of the 2006 Lebanon War, the Israeli armed forces formulated an operational requirement for an unmanned VTOL platform for resupply and medical evacuation from the front line. The answer was the Cormorant platform from Tactical Robotics, a company that has since ceased operations.

In a 2018 demonstration, the UAV flew autonomously with a medical dummy on board. A monitor supplied by the IDF’s chief surgeon transmitted vital signs, and a camera allowed two-way communication with the “patient”.

Two operators can make it ready for use in 15 minutes without tools, and it fits into a 20-foot ISO container. The current Grille 9X is fully electric, with a stated maximum payload of 175 kg, a range of 51 km and a cruising speed of 86 kilometres per hour.

Soldiers in Ukraine may have flown the world’s first combat use of a heavy transport drone to evacuate a wounded person. The first development of evacuation drones, however, goes to someone else. Israel formulated the requirement early and developed an initial system, and others followed. The German Grille, too, was already in testing before the Ukrainian requirement.

Even so, one thing holds: evacuation by air is no cure-all. The Ayudag-6 mission at the Ukrainian front required months of preparation and the cooperation of several brigades. The passenger was exposed to risks he could hardly influence. Rescue from the air should be used only when manned pickup and unmanned ground vehicles are genuinely out of the question.