StarGate Drone Flies 60 km Round Trip to Extract Two Wounded Soldiers
Ukrainian troops used an AI-guided aircraft to retrieve fighters from a 5 km grey zone after ground routes were blocked by Russian electronic warfare and FPV threats.
By Hannah Foster ·
Ukrainian forces completed a 60 km round-trip flight to extract two injured soldiers from the battlefield using the StarGate drone. The aircraft traveled nearly 30 km to reach the first serviceman and covered the same distance to return with the casualty on board. These missions occurred over the course of one week and involved the 475th Separate Assault Regiment, also known as CODE 9.2.
The rescued fighters were Yevhen, known by the alias Izium, and Artem, known as Kolobok. Both men were 25 and 24 years old, respectively, and sustained severe limb injuries. They were positioned in the grey zone, approximately 5 km from the Russian border. The unit stated that ground evacuation was impossible due to difficult terrain, water obstacles, and the threat of enemy FPV drones.
The StarGate drone is designed for aerial medical evacuations. It has a maximum payload capacity of 150 kg and a top speed of 105 km/h. For these missions, the aircraft was fitted with a dedicated medical capsule containing a stretcher. The drone is remotely operated but uses AI-based navigation systems to function without GPS.
Russian forces actively deployed electronic warfare systems in the operational area to suppress satellite navigation signals. Despite this interference, the AI navigation allowed the StarGate to complete the flight successfully. The military spent a week preparing for the operations in coordination with SkyFall, the manufacturer of the drone.
The evacuations required fire support and coordination with other units of the Ukrainian defence forces. Heavy Vampire attack drones were used to suppress Russian positions to protect the extraction route. This level of support was necessary to ensure the safety of the aerial assets during the complex missions.
Oleksandr Nastenko, the commander of the 475th Separate Assault Regiment, said the experience will help the unit establish a dedicated medical aviation unit. He explained that this new formation will specialize in evacuating wounded soldiers from the battlefield by air. The regiment received the StarGate drone from SkyFall for frontline testing.
On October 19, Ukrainian forces also reported the first aerial evacuation of a wounded soldier using a drone made by Gurzuf Defence. That operation marked an early instance of using unmanned aircraft for casualty removal. The StarGate missions demonstrated the feasibility of using larger, AI-guided drones for regular medical transport in contested environments.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
