Ukraine’s StarGate Evacuation Drone Enters Frontline Testing

Ukrainian defense firm SkyFall has delivered its StarGate aerial medical-evacuation drone to a combat brigade this week for frontline evaluation. The remotely operated craft is built to retrieve wounded troops from areas too dangerous or inaccessible for ground vehicles. Company figures put payload at up to 150 kg, one-way range at 15 km, cruise at 65 km/h and top speed up to 105 km/h, with roughly 10-minute prep. AP was granted exclusive access to a field demo at an undisclosed site: six propellers lifted a weighted stretcher; a simulated FPV attack with jamming ended when a net ensnared the attacker. A SkyFall spokesperson in a balaclava, unnamed for security, said the idea came directly from the front line, from the trenches. Code 9.2 commanders Flint and KVN described kill zones of 10–15 km or more and ground robots taking two to three hours; KVN said covering 10 kilometres in minutes would be a drastic change. StarGate uses Starlink and proprietary L-Link plus AI-assisted navigation for GPS-denied conditions, is designed for rain, snow and night thermal work, and can reportedly keep flying after losing one arm, though no combat durability data was provided. Estimated cost is at least $US50,000 per system; SkyFall aims for up to 1,000 units a month by end of 2026. Effectiveness and reliability in actual combat evacuations have not been independently established.