Six propellers whir to life, lifting a drone above a field somewhere in Ukraine. A weighted stretcher secured to its frame simulates a wounded soldier in body armor. Far from the front line, the demonstration offers a glimpse of a far more dangerous mission: flying into a battlefield and carrying wounded troops to safety without an evacuation crew. The Associated Press was granted exclusive access to a field demonstration of the drone. This week, StarGate was handed over to a combat brigade for evaluation under front-line conditions. The aerial medical evacuation drone was developed over the past year by Ukrainian defense technology company SkyFall. If it proves reliable in combat, it could transform battlefield evacuations, reaching soldiers in places where ground vehicles cannot access and potentially saving those so severely wounded that hours of waiting could cost them their lives. "With the StarGate we can give to the wounded soldier a golden chance basically to be evacuated in the matter of minutes," said SkyFall's spokesperson, who asked not to be named because of the security risks facing Ukrainian military technology personnel. He spoke to AP wearing a balaclava. The AP was not permitted to disclose the testing location. In some sectors, the so-called kill zone — the area under constant threat from drones and artillery — stretches 10 to 15 kilometers or farther. StarGate has a one-way range of 15 kilometers, potentially allowing it to reach critically wounded soldiers trapped deep inside the kill zone. SkyFall emerged after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and has grown into a Ukrainian drone manufacturer.
Named after the science-fiction franchise in which portals connect distant worlds, StarGate can carry a payload of up to 150 kilograms, according to the company – enough for a wounded soldier wearing body armor and carrying combat equipment. Its medical evacuation cabin is built around a stretcher. The drone cruises at 65 kph and can reach speeds of up to 105 kph. SkyFall says it can be prepared for flight in about 10 minutes. The drone is operated manually, but has several AI functions that allow it to operate in GPS-denied environments or when signals are spoofed or frequencies are jammed, the spokesperson said. The company estimates each system will cost at least $50,000, depending on configuration, and aims to produce up to 1,000 a month by the end of 2026. SkyFall confirmed the unit is evaluating StarGate but declined to disclose the results.
Source: Kanal13
