Ukraine's army shows heavy hexacopter drone evacuating a wounded soldier
Ukraine's Army released a video on October 19 showing what Ars Technica calls an unprecedented drone rescue. A wounded soldier is seen securing himself in a harness suspended beneath a heavy hexacopter drone with six rotors, and is then flown to safety.
The evacuation happened at an undisclosed time and place on the front line. According to The Kyiv Independent, as cited by Ars Technica, the presence of Russian drones and landmines made it impractical to send in a wheeled ground robot.
The 92nd separate assault brigade prepared and tested the aircraft, a Heavy Shot AYUDAG 6 hexacopter provided for free by the Ukrainian manufacturer Gurzuf Defence. A blog post by Gurzuf Defence says special carabiners were delivered to the wounded soldier first, so he could attach himself to the drone, which was equipped with a winch.
The soldier serves with Ukraine's 30th separate mechanized brigade. According to Gurzuf Defence he had already spent nearly 500 days at a front-line position under threat of Russian fire. Like many soldiers at such positions, he had been relying on friendly drone deliveries for ammunition and other supplies.
The flight took 1 hour and 14 minutes from start to finish and covered a distance of nearly 39 miles (62 kilometers). This particular hexacopter can reportedly carry up to 200 pounds (90 kilograms).
Napalm, a programmer of the 92nd brigade's unmanned ground systems company who went by his callsign per Ukrainian military practice, called it "a historic event, the next stage of evacuating the wounded, which we will all come to". He added that serious systematic work now begins so that such missions are carried out constantly.
Ars Technica notes the operation was revealed just days after separate Ukrainian drones designed for casualty evacuation were deployed for front-line testing, which it describes as a step beyond the US military's decades of experimentation with similar concepts.
Key facts
- On October 19, Ukraine's Army shared a video of a wounded soldier flown from the front line in a harness under a six-rotor Heavy Shot AYUDAG 6 hexacopter.
- The flight lasted 1 hour and 14 minutes and covered nearly 39 miles (62 kilometers); the drone can reportedly carry up to 200 pounds (90 kilograms).
- The 92nd separate assault brigade prepared and tested the drone, supplied free by Gurzuf Defence; the soldier serves with the 30th separate mechanized brigade.
- The Kyiv Independent reports that Russian drones and landmines made a wheeled ground robot impractical at the site.
- The time and place of the evacuation are undisclosed.
Why it matters
Ars Technica frames the rescue as unprecedented and as another case of battlefield necessity driving innovation. It came just days after separate Ukrainian drones built for casualty evacuation were deployed for front-line testing, which the article says goes a step beyond decades of US military experimentation with similar ideas. Where Russian drones and landmines rule out a wheeled robot, an aircraft with a winch offered another way to reach a soldier. Napalm, the 92nd brigade programmer, calls it the next stage of evacuating the wounded.
Who it affects
Most directly the wounded soldier, who serves with the 30th separate mechanized brigade and had spent nearly 500 days at a front-line position. More broadly, it concerns troops at similar positions who already depend on drone deliveries for ammunition and supplies, and the units that would run such missions, such as the 92nd separate assault brigade's unmanned ground systems company.
How to use it
This is not a product release. The practical details in the source are these: the 92nd brigade prepared and tested a Heavy Shot AYUDAG 6 hexacopter supplied free by Gurzuf Defence. The drone carried a winch, and special carabiners were delivered to the soldier beforehand so he could attach himself. He then secured himself in a harness hanging beneath the aircraft. Napalm says systematic work now begins so that such missions are carried out constantly.
How solid is it
The core event rests on a video shared by Ukraine's Army, Ars Technica's description of it, and a blog post by Gurzuf Defence, the drone's manufacturer. The ground-robot detail comes from The Kyiv Independent via Ars Technica. The date and location of the evacuation are undisclosed. The soldier's name and the nature of his injuries are not given. No independent verification of the unprecedented claim is offered beyond the article's own description. The 200-pound (90 kilogram) capacity is stated as reported, not confirmed.
Risks and caveats
The source does not say whether the soldier survived or what happened to him after the flight. It also does not give where the flight started and ended, only the total distance and duration. It does not say how many evacuation flights are planned or when systematic missions will begin. Much of the account comes from the Ukrainian military and the drone's maker, who are interested parties, so treat the details as their account of the operation.
“This is a historic event, the next stage of evacuating the wounded, which we will all come to”
— Napalm, programmer of the 92nd separate assault brigade's unmanned ground systems company