Ukraine has started using a drone designed to lift wounded soldiers off the battlefield, according to its manufacturer, Skyfall.

The company says the “Stargate” has already carried two soldiers out of the front line, and that both are now recovering.

The drone can reach 105 kilometres per hour and fly 15 kilometres each way with a person on board, a 30-kilometre round trip.

A spokesperson describes it as the first aerial casualty evacuation drone, developed over roughly a year after requests from the front.

Heavy mining and enemy drones overhead, he explains, often make conventional methods impossible, while unmanned ground vehicles struggle with rivers and rough terrain.