Ukrainian Unit Flies 30 km to Extract Wounded Soldiers

A StarGate drone flew nearly 30 kilometers to reach a wounded Ukrainian soldier and traveled the same distance back with the casualty on board. The 475th Separate Assault Regiment, also known as CODE 9.2, executed two such aerial evacuations in the past week. The missions targeted soldiers trapped in the grey zone, roughly five kilometers from the Russian border. Both rescued men, identified as 25-year-old Yevhen with the alias Izium and 24-year-old Artem with the alias Kolobok, suffered severe limb injuries. The unit stated that ground evacuation was impossible due to difficult terrain, water obstacles, and the threat of enemy FPV drones.

The regiment spent a week preparing these complex operations in coordination with SkyFall, the manufacturer of the casualty evacuation drone. The missions required fire support and coordination with other Ukrainian defense units. Heavy Vampire attack drones were deployed to suppress Russian positions to cover the StarGate flights. According to the unit, Russian forces actively deployed electronic warfare systems in the operational area to suppress satellite navigation signals. The StarGate drone utilized an AI-based navigation system to complete the missions successfully despite the loss of GPS data.

Commander Oleksandr Flint Nastenko said the experience gained from these operations will help the regiment establish a dedicated medical aviation unit. He explained that this new unit will specialize in evacuating wounded soldiers from the battlefield by air. SkyFall previously developed the StarGate drone for this specific purpose and handed it over to the military for frontline testing.

The StarGate drone has a maximum range of 30 kilometers and a payload capacity of up to 150 kilograms. For casualty evacuation, it is fitted with a dedicated medical capsule equipped with a stretcher. The aircraft is remotely operated and has a top speed of 105 kilometers per hour. Its AI-powered systems allow it to function without GPS and in the face of electronic warfare interference. On October 19, the military also reported a separate first-time aerial evacuation of a wounded soldier using a drone manufactured by Gurzuf Defence.

The 475th Separate Assault Regiment is currently using these aerial assets to manage casualty extraction in areas where traditional ground ambulances cannot operate safely. The integration of AI navigation allows the drones to bypass electronic jamming that would otherwise disrupt standard GPS-guided systems. The regiment’s plan to form a specialized medical aviation unit aims to institutionalize this method of battlefield triage and transport.