StarGate Drone Completes Two Frontline Medevacs for Ukraine's 475th Regiment

Ukraine's 475th Separate Assault Regiment, known by the callsign CODE 9.2, successfully extracted two wounded soldiers from the battlefield using a specialized aerial evacuation platform. The unit completed both rescues within a single week, relying on the StarGate drone developed by the company SkyFall.

The first patient was Yevhen, a 25-year-old soldier using the alias Izium, and the second was Artem, a 24-year-old identified as Kolobok. Both men sustained severe limb injuries and were stranded in a grey zone approximately 5 km from the Russian border. The unit stated that difficult terrain, water obstacles, and the threat of enemy FPV drones made ground evacuation impossible, leaving aerial transport as the only viable option.

The operation required extensive planning over seven days, involving coordination between the regiment and SkyFall representatives. The mission also necessitated fire support from other branches of the Ukrainian defence forces. Heavy Vampire attack drones were deployed to suppress Russian positions, creating a window for the StarGate to fly safely to the extraction point.

During one of the missions, the StarGate traveled nearly 30 km to reach the serviceman's position and covered the same distance on the return leg with the soldier aboard. The area was heavily defended by Russian electronic warfare systems designed to suppress satellite navigation signals. The drone relied on an AI-based navigation system to maintain its course despite the loss of GPS data, ensuring the crew reached the extraction zone safely.

The StarGate platform is remotely operated with a maximum speed of 105 km/h and a range of up to 30 km. It is capable of carrying a payload of up to 150 kg and is fitted with a dedicated medical capsule containing a stretcher for casualty evacuation. SkyFall developed the aircraft specifically for frontline medical logistics and transferred it to the military for operational testing.

Oleksandr "Flint" Nastenko, commander of the 475th Separate Assault Regiment, said the experience gained from these missions will help the unit establish a dedicated medical aviation unit. The new subunit will specialize in evacuating wounded soldiers from the battlefield by air.

This follows a similar operation on 19 October, where the military evacuated a wounded soldier using a drone manufactured by Ukrainian company Gurzuf Defence. That mission marked the first reported use of an aerial drone for a frontline medical evacuation.