Ukraine's 475th Regiment Uses StarGate Drone to Rescue Wounded
The AI-guided aircraft carried two injured soldiers out of a 30 km kill zone where ground access was blocked by water and enemy fire.
By Ana Castro ·
Ukrainian forces completed two aerial medical evacuations using the StarGate drone within a single week, removing wounded soldiers from positions where ground retrieval was impossible. The 475th Separate Assault Regiment, also known as CODE 9.2, coordinated with SkyFall, the drone’s manufacturer, to execute the complex missions. The unit stated that both rescued soldiers, a 25-year-old named Yevhen and a 24-year-old named Artem, sustained severe limb injuries while located in the grey zone, approximately 5 km from the Russian border.
The regiment cited difficult terrain, water obstacles, and the threat of enemy FPV drones as the reasons ground evacuation was not feasible. To reach the soldiers, the military utilized heavy Vampire attack drones to suppress Russian positions. The StarGate aircraft, which has a range of up to 30 km and a payload capacity of 150 kg, was fitted with a dedicated medical capsule containing a stretcher for the casualty evacuation.
During one mission, the StarGate traveled nearly 30 km to reach the serviceman’s position and covered a similar distance on the return flight with the soldier on board. The unit noted that the enemy actively deployed electronic warfare systems in the operational area, attempting to suppress satellite navigation signals. Despite this interference, the drone’s AI-based navigation system allowed the flight to proceed without GPS, ensuring the soldier’s safe extraction.
The StarGate drone is remotely operated and reaches a maximum speed of 105 km/h. SkyFall developed the aircraft specifically for evacuating wounded personnel and handed it over to the military for frontline testing. The regiment’s commander, Oleksandr "Flint" Nastenko, said the experience gained from these operations will help the unit establish a dedicated medical aviation unit. He explained that this new body will specialize specifically in evacuating wounded soldiers from the battlefield by air.
These missions followed a separate operation reported on 19 October, in which the Ukrainian military evacuated a wounded soldier using an aerial drone manufactured by Gurzuf Defence. That earlier operation marked the first use of an aerial drone for a casualty evacuation by Ukrainian forces.
