In the ‘kill zone’, Ukraine bets on flying evacuation drones

Detailed summary

Called Stargate and developed by manufacturer Skyfall, it has been used in three missions. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Undisclosed, Ukraine – Ukrainian soldier Yevgen had been stuck on the front line for two days, his foot torn off by a mine. Just as he was losing hope, a comrade told him salvation was coming from above: a flying evacuation drone.

“I said, ‘you’re kidding, right? You’re just trying to cheer me up’,” he told AFP.

Now recovering in a hospital bed, Yevgen – whose surname AFP cannot disclose for security reasons – was one of the first Ukrainians to be evacuated by an aerial medical drone.

Almost five years after Russia invaded, drones have transformed the very nature of modern warfare.

They dominate the skies, with the front line now known as a “kill zone” several kilometres deep. There, both sides can send explosive-packed machines crashing down at the slightest sign of movement below.

That has made rescuing wounded soldiers caught inside the kill zone almost impossible for ground forces and combat medics.

Instead, Ukrainian drone producers have turned their hand to evacuation craft.

The one that saved Yevgen – called Stargate and developed by manufacturer Skyfall – has been used in three missions.

“Later in the evening the company commander called me and said: ‘Well, are you ready to fly?’,” said Yevgen.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Straits Times. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.