On October 19, 2026, the Ukrainian military, working in tandem with drone manufacturer Gurzuf Defence, employed a customized Heavy Shot Ayudag-6 hexacopter drone to transport a wounded soldier from a hard-to-reach forward outpost to a secure area. Ukraine asserts that this is the inaugural instance of directly evacuating a wounded soldier from the frontlines of combat using an aerial drone, although this assertion has yet to be confirmed. The soldier sustained injuries near the Kupiansk axis in the Kharkiv sector. Traditional ground evacuation techniques were impractical due to the presence of minefields in the vicinity and heightened Russian drone surveillance.

The drone's journey spanned 1 hour, 14 minutes, and 36 seconds, traversing a distance of 62 kilometers, and successfully conveyed the injured soldier to safety. Presently, the soldier is undergoing medical treatment and is no longer in peril. The operation made use of a temporarily adapted heavy hexacopter drone, rather than a model specifically engineered for such missions. The Ukrainian team carried out tests and modifications to guarantee flight stability while transporting the wounded soldier, adhering to rigorous safety standards and operational protocols.