Ukraine is first country in world to develop evacuation UAVs, - Ministry of Defense
Drone Industry
Ukraine is the first country in the world to develop evacuation unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of rescuing military personnel in areas where ground evacuation is impossible.
This was reported by the Ministry of Defense, according to Censor.NET.
What is known
As noted, Ukrainian defenders have already carried out the world’s first medical evacuation using a heavy drone this year. Subsequently, they successfully tested a drone that returned with wounded personnel while under the influence of enemy electronic warfare (EW) systems, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI)-based navigation.
The Brave1 defense innovation cluster, with the support of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, is working to develop evacuation UAVs.
Advantages of unmanned evacuation drones
The Ministry of Defense notes that in modern warfare, traditional evacuation methods are often unavailable due to the widespread use of UAVs. Therefore, ground-based robotic systems (UGVs) have now become the primary means of rescuing service members. They successfully extract defenders from dangerous areas, but are limited in speed. At the same time, for a seriously wounded soldier, any loss of time can be critical.
When every minute counts and all routes are mined or cut off by the enemy, the sky is the only option for evacuation. It is precisely in such situations that heavy aerial drones can come to the rescue.
Requirements for manufacturers of evacuation drones
In 2024, Brave1, in collaboration with the military, formulated a request and gave impetus to the development of a new field—evacuation drones. The following criteria were established for the defense-tech market:
- The drone must be capable of carrying 130 kg over a distance of 15 km;
- to survive in an electronic warfare environment, drones must have an integrated communications system (with at least three alternative types).
Optionally, these drones can be equipped with lidar, optical stabilization systems, and GPS-free navigation systems.
Successful evacuations
- In October 2026, the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out the world’s first medical evacuation using a heavy drone. An infantryman from the 30th SMB was successfully rescued from a position blocked by the enemy.
The operation was carried out by the "Heavy Shot Ayudag-6" hexacopter operated by a member of Brave1. It is a 98-kilogram aircraft with a payload capacity of 130 kilograms, which traveled more than 15 km one way during this mission.
It is noted that preparations for the mission lasted for months and drew on the experience of the UGV's of the 92nd SAB. Evacuation equipment was airdropped to the soldier in advance—he had to secure himself to the copter’s winch on his own. And during the evacuation itself, neighboring units scrambled their bombers to divert the attention of enemy anti-aircraft drones away from the rescue board.
- Recently, a Ukrainian company—a member of Brave1—unveiled the Stargate system, the first drone designed specifically for evacuations at the request of assault troops.
The drone takes 10 minutes to deploy, can carry 150 kg at speeds of up to 105 km/h, and is equipped with a medical module featuring a stretcher. Thanks to AI-based software, if its navigation system is completely jammed, the drone can autonomously plot a route and return to a safe zone.
Using this drone, assault troops from the CODE 9.2 regiment carried out two successful air evacuations of seriously wounded soldiers from the gray zone in a single week. The soldiers were located 5 km from the border with Russia, where ground rescue was impossible due to the challenging terrain, water obstacles, and the threat of FPV drones.
The drone flew nearly 30 km one way and returned with the defenders on board while under enemy electronic warfare, navigating solely using AI-powered navigation. The operation was supported by heavy strike drones, which heavily suppressed enemy positions.
