UGV “Ant” receives armoured CaseEvak evacuation module for the wounded

With “CaseEvak”, the Ukrainian company “Robotic Complexes” (Роботизовані комплекси) from Ternopil has presented a purpose-built evacuation module. It is designed for “Ant” (Мураха), a remotely controlled tracked unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).

It is intended to recover wounded soldiers from sections of the front whose evacuation routes are constantly threatened by first-person view (FPV) drones, by artillery and by mortar fire. Unlike conventional cargo platforms, the system is said to focus on the protection and comfort of the wounded person.

Its core is an enclosed armoured capsule made of 3.5-millimetre Armox 500T steel and lined on the inside with HDPE 1000. The capsule keeps out fragments and weather, absorbs shocks and vibrations and is easy to keep clean. Its equipment includes a first-aid kit, lighting, floor heating and ventilation; the wounded person can be monitored via cameras with a day and a night channel and via an intercom link. Because doors are fitted at the sides and at the rear, loading is possible from several directions.

Company founder and managing director Ihor Chaikivskyi explained the approach in an interview with the portal dev.ua: “One has to ask what happens to a wounded person after he has been loaded onto the platform. Is he protected from fragments? Is contact with him maintained during transport? We believe that an evacuation drone must be a specialised solution designed around the needs of the wounded”.

Control, propulsion and range of the UGV

ELRS, LTE, Starlink or fibre optics are available as the control link. Even when the capsule detaches from the base platform, it remains connected via two mutually independent channels. Propulsion is provided by two electric motors of 8 kW each, which together deliver a torque of 1,600 newton metres; they are powered by an immersion-cooled 35-kilowatt-hour LiFePO4 battery. A single trip can cover up to 80 kilometres. The capsule accounts for 344 kilograms, and the UGV weighs 1,031 kilograms in total.

According to the Ukrainian trade journal Militarnyi, the armour steel has already undergone ballistic testing, fired at from a distance of 50 metres with various calibres. Additional protection against FPV drones is in development, for example cage structures, net launchers and electronic warfare systems. Later, the vital signs of the wounded person are to be monitored and transmitted to medics while the vehicle is on the move. The “Ant” base platform itself already performs logistics tasks as a ground drone; 80 per cent of its components come from Ukraine, and its payload is up to one tonne.