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Ground drones are supposed to evacuate wounded people in Ukraine
May 14, 2024, 5:44 p.m
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In its defensive battle against Russia, Ukraine is making extensive use of aerial drones to fend off advances by invading troops. Sea drones cause serious damage to the Russian Navy. The Ukrainian military is now also conducting tests with ground drones. However, they are not intended to be used for fighting, but rather to rescue the injured. Dmytro Mamonov, a displaced person from Slovyansk, developed the medical evacuation chassis together with his children.
ntv.de: You build so-called electric stretchers. What is that?
Dmytro Mamonov in his workshop.
(Photo: private)
Dmytro Mamonov: These are remote-controlled stretchers that should be in every trench. And if a wounded man needs to be carried, he can be taken out and sent on his way. The device is designed to evacuate a person over a distance of five or six kilometers.
Where is the advantage?
If it is reported that a seriously wounded person needs to be evacuated, it takes at least two hours to get the wounded person from the transfer point without electric stretchers, because it is far from the front line.
Why?
Because you can’t drive a Hummer or a tank to the front. It can be seen and attacked from the sky by a drone. That’s why the soldiers have to carry a wounded man with their hands for up to seven kilometers. Firstly, this is very difficult and secondly, it keeps a certain number of people away from other important combat tasks. The evacuation group also exposes itself to mortal danger. And when it comes to a seriously injured person, every second makes a difference. That is, such an e-stretcher can facilitate and speed up the evacuation process and give every soldier the peace of mind that, even if he is wounded, he will receive emergency care and be taken to a place where he will receive the necessary help.
How many people do you need to operate an electric stretcher like this?
The controls are very simple, so to evacuate a person, all that is needed is an attendant who walks at a certain distance from this vehicle and controls it. If necessary, he runs up and provides aid to the injured person.
Is it possible to completely transfer responsibility for evacuation to electronic military transport vehicles without supervision?
It is forbidden to evacuate remotely. Because if something happens to a wounded person during transport, all responsibility lies with the commander who gave the order to evacuate the soldier. During transport, a wounded person may begin to convulse, he may bleed to death, there may be a technical defect, a drone attack. So it is dangerous to send him with just the ground drone without an escort.
What kind of feedback do you get from the military?
More than 90 percent of the feedback is positive. The only thing is that my product is often used for other purposes.
What other purposes?
The military will receive an e-stretcher for testing.
(Photo: private)
Soldiers use them to carry supplies when they go on duty. They often have to walk five kilometers, carrying provisions, weapons and the like. So they use the ground drone as a logistical tool.
How many drones have you sent to the front so far?
More than 50 pieces. I also transferred the license to the Ihor Sikorskyj Polytechnic Institute in Kiev. Now the students there are also making electrical carriers for the military.
How much does one of your drones cost?
2000 dollars.
Do you make your electric ambulance completely yourself?
My children help me.
Their children?
Dmytro’s son works on the electronics for the e-stretchers.
(Photo: private)
Yes. My thirteen year old son did the electronics. My nine-year-old daughter is responsible for the fabric that is stretched onto the frame. She also painted individual components, and now she is preparing cables and checking the motors. There are many jobs she can do. Of course the children don’t work with the power tools. I’ll take care of the mechanical part.
Do you have investors?
I was looking for an investor who would produce this tool and advocate for use in the army. But unfortunately no one was interested because it is a low-budget product. After that, I came up with a strategy: I’ll make drones, send them to the front, and they’ll gradually prove themselves and gain a certain level of popularity. And that will then help me find a more serious investor.
Why did you choose this concept?
I am an internally displaced person, that is, a person who has lost his roots and is in limbo. If I don’t do something positive, my life will become meaningless.
Maryna Bratchyk spoke to Dmytro Mamonov