The Ukrainian military has carried out its third successful air evacuation of a wounded soldier using a StarGate drone from SkyFall. This time, they managed to rescue a 54-year-old soldier who had remained at his combat post for 57 days after stepping on a landmine. The operation was carried out by servicemen from the 475th Separate Assault Regiment CODE 9.2. This was reported on 2 November by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing the drone’s developer.
- The Ukrainian StarGate drone has evacuated a wounded soldier for the third time.
- A 54-year-old soldier with the call sign «Donbas» spent 57 days at his post after being wounded.
- The drone flew more than 15 km towards a soldier who was 2 km from the border with Russia.
- The evacuation was carried out by soldiers from the 475th Assault Regiment, CODE 9.2.
- The rescued soldier is in hospital and is receiving treatment.
57 days after being wounded: how the soldier was saved
The rescued soldier is 54 years old Andriy with the call sign «Donbas». He had been stationed at his combat post since the end of May 2026. On 2 September, whilst carrying out a mission, the soldier stepped on a landmine.
It was impossible to evacuate Andriy by land. This was prevented by the rugged terrain, minefields, and constant Russian shelling and attacks FPV drones.
Soldiers from the 475th Separate Assault Regiment, CODE 9.2, spent several days preparing an operation involving the use of a specialised StarGate evacuation drone.
The drone travelled over 15 kilometres one way and reached a position just two kilometres from the state border with Russia. It then picked up the wounded soldier.
The operation was a success. Andriy was taken to hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment.
What is known about the Ukrainian StarGate drone?
StarGate — a specialised unmanned platform for evacuating the wounded from the battlefield, developed by the Ukrainian defence technology company SkyFall.
The device was developed at the request of the military for situations where ground transport cannot reach positions or where its use poses an excessive risk.
According to the developer, StarGate has the following specifications:
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Load capacity — up to 150 kilograms.
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Maximum speed — up to 105 km/h.
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Evacuation module — based on certified medical stretchers.
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Navigation — using artificial intelligence systems.
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Communications — with backup systems for operation in the presence of electronic jamming.
The developers claim that the on-board systems enable the mission to continue even if the GPS signal is jammed and communication with the operator is lost.
Three injured people were evacuated over a week and a half
According to SkyFall, over the course of a week and a half, three seriously wounded soldiers were successfully rescued with the help of StarGate.
The 475th Separate Assault Regiment reported on the previous two operations on 26 October. On that occasion, the troops evacuated a 25-year-old Yevgenya with the call sign «Izyum» and a 24-year-old Artema with the call sign «Kolobok».
During one of its previous missions, the drone travelled nearly 30 kilometres to the wounded soldier’s position and roughly the same distance back. The evacuation was successfully carried out despite active Russian electronic warfare operations.
There are plans to make wider use of air evacuation
SkyFall has announced that it is continuing to refine StarGate in collaboration with the military and plans to support the roll-out of the technology across other units of the Defence Forces.
Commander of the 475th Independent Assault Regiment Oleksandr Nastenko with the call sign «Flint»He had previously spoken of his intention to set up a separate air ambulance unit within the medical company.".
Its task will be to evacuate the wounded from the battlefield by air when conventional rescue methods are not available.
As of 2 November, SkyFall has confirmed three successful StarGate evacuations over the past week and a half. The company is working to expand the use of the unmanned system, but has not yet announced any specific dates for its widespread roll-out.
