The devastation caused by the ongoing in Ukraine has left millions scared, injured, and homeless. According to the United Nations (UN), 7.7 million Ukrainians have been internally displaced, which is 17.5% of the entire population. Humanitarian aid is crucial for affected individuals that do not have access to hospitals and medical supplies.
To ensure Ukrainians in need have access to the aid they require, drone companies including Draganfly (NASDAQ: DPRO; CSE: DPRO; FSE: 3U8) are providing emergency crews in the country with cutting-edge drone systems.
In March, Draganfly announced that it would donate three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Revived Soldiers Ukraine (RSU). RSU is a respected Ukrainian non-profit organization that utilizes medical response and search and rescue drones to provide medical and humanitarian help to injured Ukrainians.
Draganfly kept this very important promise. In May, the company successfully delivered its first Medical Response Drone to the charity in Poland.
WATCH: Draganfly’s First Medical Response Drone Now Deployed in Ukraine
According to the World Health Organization’s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA), there have been more than 30 attacks since the start of the war with Russia, which has led to at least 12 deaths and 34 injuries in Ukraine. Providing humanitarian aid on the ground has been extremely challenging as entry points have been blocked and roads have been destroyed by bombings.
“The crisis across Ukraine continues to create challenging conditions for emergency crews trying to provide aid to those in need,” Cameron Chell, President and CEO of Draganfly said in a release. “Our Medical Response Drone and subsequent drone solutions will help RSU effectively access hotspots and deliver crucial medical supplies and equipment to affected Ukrainians.”
Draganfly’s Medical Response Drone can carry up to 35 pounds. When equipped with the company’s temperature-managed Medical Response Payload Box, the UAV is able to transport a variety of temperature-sensitive medical supplies such as blood, insulin, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, water, and wound care kits. The innovative payload system ensures ease of access when top-mounted and effective quick-release operations when bottom-mounted.
In addition to the initial Medical Response Drone, two of Draganfly’s Situational Assessment Drones were received by RSU President Iryna Vashchuk Discipio and her staff at the same location last month.
The drones are lightweight, fully automated, and come equipped with high-resolution optical and thermal imaging that is essential during critical operations such as search and rescue. The UAVs will also help crews quickly and safely deliver medical supplies and other essentials to communities in dangerous and hard-to-reach areas.
“The Situational Assessment Drones are specifically designed to provide crucial and effective visual oversight during active emergency, medical, and disaster response situations,” Chell adds. “The combination of these drones and our first Medical Response Drone will help RSU safely access hotspots and provide humanitarian aid in major Ukrainian cities.”
The Situational Assessment Drones are lightweight, fully automated, and come equipped with high-resolution optical and thermal imaging that is essential during critical operations such as search and rescue. The drones will also help crews quickly and safely deliver medical supplies and other essentials to communities in dangerous and hard-to-reach areas.
Draganfly’s drone solutions are extremely fast, sturdy, and versatile. The successful drone deployments will ultimately help RSU reduce its response times and as the organization scales up, provide more effective humanitarian aid operations.
“To save lives, high-tech solutions like Draganfly’s Medical Response Drone are crucial,” Iryna Vashchuk Discipio, President of RSU, said in a release. “Donations, training, deliveries, and help from philanthropic partners like DroneAid and its chair Riaz Mamdani will help us effectively scale up our humanitarian aid operations in Ukraine.”
Draganfly’s 20-plus years of drone innovation have helped it become a trusted name in UAV hardware, software, sensors, and services. In addition to the three donated drone systems, the company is working on the initial order it received from Coldchain Delivery Systems for 10 of its North American-made Medical Response and Search and Rescue Drones for deployment with RSU.
For more information on Draganfly, visit www.draganfly.com.
