E-VTOL (casualty evacuation drone)

2023: Product Announcement

On August 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Ministry's Office of Research and Development Programs announced the creation of the world's first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of safely and quickly evacuating wounded soldiers from the battlefield.

The drone is made according to the E-VTOL scheme. It has vertical takeoff and landing like a helicopter, but flies like an airplane in the air. The power plant includes a silent electric motor, a battery pack with a simple charging and four screws. In general, the drone resembles Boeing's V-22 tiltrotor.

In May 2023, the Israeli UAV made a demonstration flight with several scenarios and tasks, and the test results were so successful that it was decided to speed up the project. At the beginning of 2024, a drone with a payload intended for transporting goods will be launched. At first, the drone will deliver ammunition, medicines, food to the battlefield, and subsequently evacuate the wounded.

It is assumed that the drone will be able to carry up to 250 kg of cargo over a distance of 50 km. The device will fly autonomously with a pre-entered waypoint - like ordinary military drones that do not require remote human control. The new aircraft was actually developed for the civilian sphere by the Israeli company Air.R.V. However, the capabilities of the drone interested the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The armed forces of different countries have previously tried to develop drones, a little smaller, to remove the wounded from the battlefield, but these projects failed mainly for security reasons. In addition, there were problems with the insufficient power of the battery pack. Creators of the new drone managed to overcome these difficulties.^[1]

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