The Fourth Operational "Rubizh" Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine has saved the life of one of its soldiers by airlifting him an e-bike via drone delivery, and yes, this is what war looks like now. The soldier, callsign "Tankist," was part of a squad on the front line near Siversk in eastern Ukraine. Surrounded by the Russians, who deployed such high-tech tactics as literally throwing gas canisters and a lighter into their foxhole, three of the squad were killed. Tankist, however, managed to crawl his way out of the burning hole.
As recounted in an official video from the brigade itself, things were pretty grim for Tankist at that point. The grizzled combat vet had injured his leg in the escape, bad enough that he couldn't get very far. He was forced to post up in place and try to fend off the surrounding Russians, assisted by bomber drone cover and encouragement from his commanders over the radio. Even though he was just one guy, the brigade wanted to pull their brother out. Only question was, how?
Well, Ukraine has been nothing if not unconventional throughout this war, particularly in its use of drones, and this situation was no exception. Somebody came up with the idea of, essentially, a drone delivery service, but for an e-bike, which Tankist could just ride out of hell. That's a great idea! And, as it turned out, really hard to actually pull off.
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How To Do A Drone Delivery Run In The Middle Of A War
The brigade got their hands on a few Keteles models, which the company describes as "fat tire all terrain e-bikes." This would appear to be an excellent use case for exactly that. Problem was, each one weighed about 88 pounds, and the heavy bomber quadcopter drones were only rated to carry about half that.
Utilizing the time-honored strategy of "just do it anyway," the brigade heroically sent out the bike-laden drone... which the Russians shot down. Undeterred, the unit tried again, but the second drone's motors blew out just trying to lift all that weight. Tankist, meanwhile, was still surrounded and alone. What could they do?
Creativity came to the rescue again. They sent out the drone with the bike still unassembled, maybe making the payload a bit steadier by being more compact. This they flew to a waypoint nearer to Tankist, where a different squad assembled the bike and switched it on. The already-on bike was then carried the final distance to Tankist, under a smoke screen and covering fire from other bomber drones to fend off the Russians. Salvation from above! Except, not.
Saving Tankist
The heavy drone had winched the e-bike down on cables, and those cables had gotten tangled up in the wheels. Fortunately, Tankist was able to work out the kinks, literally, and then off he went, beelining it for the nearest Ukrainian position. Fortunately, no Russians shot at him. Unfortunately, he hit a landmine.
Amazingly, the e-bike, which had already saved his life, now saved it a second time by taking the entirety of the blast itself. Though the noble steed was now slain, Tankist was no worse for wear. Not about to give up now, he just limped his way towards his goal. From the position he was trying to reach, two other Ukrainian soldiers ran out into the danger zone to help him along. Tankist finally made it back to friendly territory.
But it wasn't over yet. His leg was still a mess, and he needed better medical attention than the front could provide. The brigade still needed to pull him farther out. How could they do that? Well, here's an idea: why not airlift an e-bike to him via drone delivery?
Copying the exact same stunt they'd pulled off the first time, the brigade flew a disassembled bike to a waypoint, had the squad there assemble it and turn it on, then flew the last stretch to Tankist. This time, there were no tangled wires and no landmines: he just rode off under sunny skies, eventually getting where he needed to go. A soldier made it out of hell, thanks to an e-bike and a drone. War may be the worst, but sometimes, some pretty amazing stories come out of it.
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