Ukraine completes its first aerial drone rescue of a wounded soldier from the battlefield.

Ukraine’s military has completed its first-ever aerial drone rescue of a wounded soldier from the battlefield, bypassing risks from landmines and enemy surveillance that make traditional ground extractions difficult.

According to reports by The Kyiv Independent and Gurzuf Defence, the evacuation relied on a Heavy Shot AYUDAG 6 hexacopter—a large drone with six rotors capable of carrying up to 200 pounds. The wounded soldier, belonging to the 30th separate mechanized brigade, secured himself into a harness suspended from a drone winch using carabiners sent to him beforehand. The flight lasted one hour and fourteen minutes, covering a distance of nearly 39 miles.

Pavlo Feldblium, cofounder of manufacturer Gurzuf Defence, stated that such drone evacuations carry inherent risks and should serve as a last resort when wheeled ground robots or human rescuers cannot reach the area. The operation follows similar efforts, including frontline testing of SkyFall's StarGate hexacopter, which features a stretcher-based container and an onboard artificial intelligence system to navigate back to safety if communications fail.