Key facts
- The 475th Separate Assault Regiment is forming platoons dedicated to drone airlifts and improving pilot-medic coordination, said "Cherry", head of its medical service.
- Ukraine's defence ministry said the StarGate drone covered 60 km on one rescue, half of it carrying a person.
- Manufacturer SkyFall expects to build around 1,000 StarGate units per month by the end of 2026, a spokesperson told Reuters.
- Eduard Khoroshun, head of a military hospital in Kharkiv region, said faster evacuations could mean fewer complications and disabilities.
- Aerial evacuation drones are faster and more evasive than unmanned ground vehicles, said "Cherry", 28.
Ukraine's 475th Separate Assault Regiment is moving to make drone evacuations of wounded soldiers part of its daily operations, after carrying out its first two hexacopter rescues in October 2026, according to a Reuters report published November 12, 2026.
The first known drone airlift was carried out by Ukraine's 92nd Brigade in late October 2026, followed shortly by the 475th's first two rescues. In one of them, the Ukrainian-made StarGate drone covered 60 km (37 miles), half of it carrying a person, Ukraine's defence ministry said.
Pilot "KVN", 33, who used his military call sign, said preparations for his first rescue took seven days; two weeks later a similar mission came together in 12 hours. He has completed four missions, the most recent lasting an hour and a half, and described airlifting wounded comrades as "the peak of responsibility in the army".
"Cherry", 28, head of the regiment's medical service, said the unit is forming platoons dedicated to drone airlifts and working on coordination between pilots and medics. She said aerial evacuation drones are faster and more evasive than unmanned ground vehicles, which are slow and can make easy targets. In August 2026, a company commander from the 475th rescued two wounded soldiers by car after a drone struck the unmanned ground vehicle carrying them.
Eduard Khoroshun, head of a military hospital in the northeastern Kharkiv region, said in a statement after the first evacuations that quicker evacuations could lead to fewer complications and disabilities.