Ukrainian troops have used a heavy drone to airlift a wounded soldier from a frontline position where mines and Russian drone activity prevented a rescue by ground, in what the military described as the world’s first such battlefield evacuation.
The operation, announced on October 19, 2026, involved a six-rotor Heavy Shot Ayudag-6 drone built by Ukrainian manufacturer Gurzuf Defence. The soldier is now receiving treatment and rehabilitation and is expected to survive, according to the military.
The badly-wounded infantryman served with the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade. Specialists from the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade worked with Gurzuf to adapt the drone for the rescue, testing changes intended to prevent it from tipping or swaying excessively while carrying a person.
According to Gurzuf, equipment with attachment clips was delivered to the soldier before the aircraft arrived with a winch. Following instructions from fellow soldiers who remained in contact with him, he secured himself to the evacuation equipment.
A drone operator from the 30th Brigade then flew him to safety, where troops met him and arranged further evacuation to a hospital.
The manufacturer said that the mission lasted about 75 minutes and covered 62 kilometers, or roughly 39 miles.
Local outlet Gwara Media, citing the Kharkiv military hospital, identified the soldier as Kostiantyn, 49, and placed the rescue in the Kupiansk sector. By Gwara’s account, he had lost both legs and remained at his position after a fellow soldier was killed.
His unit supplied him with food, water and medicine with drone drops while repeated attempts to evacuate him failed.
Before the rescue, the drone pilot recorded a video showing Kostiantyn how to secure himself to the aircraft’s evacuation equipment and gave it to him. According to the pilot, the onboard camera showed the soldier following those instructions and making a heart gesture with his fingers.
The hospital has said that Kostiantyn now faces rehabilitation and prosthetic leg fittings.
The military and manufacturer have described the operation as a world first, although the claim has not been independently verified. The date of the mission has not been disclosed.
In an account of the rescue, 10th Army Corps commander Artem Bohomolov said that he could confirm it was a first for Ukraine but could not say whether similar operations had taken place elsewhere.
Previously, unmanned aircraft have been used to demonstrate casualty evacuation. Lockheed Martin announced a rescue demonstration using an unmanned K-MAX helicopter in 2015, and the US Army documented another demonstration involving a simulated casualty in 2016.
Gurzuf co-founder Pavlo Feldblium cautioned against treating the successful rescue as evidence that aerial drone evacuations could become routine. He stressed that the risks to wounded soldiers remained high and that each mission would require preparation for the particular location and circumstances.
For now, he said, evacuation by air is a last resort when there is no other way to save a casualty.