Wounded soldier airlifted from front line by drone in ‘world first’

London: Ukraine has rescued a wounded soldier from the front line using an aerial drone for the first time.

The Ukrainian army published a video showing the drone lowering itself to the ground, before a man in combat gear fastens himself to a winch and is lifted.

The video from the onboard camera shows the soldier swinging beneath the body of the drone as it flies at low altitude.

Back in safer territory, the drone carefully lowers the infantryman. One of the operators, whose face is blurred, says: “Welcome back to the ground.”

The brigade involved did not reveal where the evacuation took place.

“The operation was successful – the wounded person was saved! He is now undergoing treatment and rehabilitation, and his life is no longer in danger,” the drone unit of Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault Brigade said on Facebook.

Gurzuf Defence, the drone’s manufacturer, said the man was unable to be rescued by conventional means because he was stuck in a dangerous area.

“Any attempt to reach him would have meant a deadly risk for the rescue team,” it said.

The drone, an Ayudag-6 hexacopter, “brought the wounded man to a safer position, where he was met by comrades who arranged for his onward evacuation to a hospital,” it added.

The squad leader and brigade programmer, only identified as Napalm, called the soldier a “hero” for agreeing to the mission.

Ukraine has long used unmanned ground vehicles to evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield, but this was the first reported instance of an aerial drone being used for the same purpose.

The 92nd Assault Brigade’s drone unit described the operation as a “world first”.

Both Russia and Ukraine have made extensive use of drones in the 4½-year war, which began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The use of combat drones by both sides has turned the battlefield into what military analysts have described as a “kill zone” where neither side has a clear advantage.

The Telegraph, London

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