Avilus has successfully supported the live pilot demonstration of an autonomous tactical medical evacuation system as part of the iMEDCAP consortium during NATO’s Vigorous Warrior 2026 exercise in Estonia.
Completed on June 12, 2026, the demonstration showcased a fully integrated chain of autonomous search, rescue, ground transport, in-transit treatment support, and aerial evacuation for combat casualties. The system is designed to address a critical challenge in modern warfare, where increasing battlefield lethality can put medical personnel at greater risk and make the “Golden Hour” principle harder to uphold.
iMEDCAP, which stands for Development of intelligent military capabilities for monitoring, medical care and evacuation for contagious, injured and contaminated personnel, is a European Defence Fund project funded in 2023 under Grant Agreement No. 101121421. Led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the consortium brings together 24 partners from nine nations, combining expertise in drone technology, robotics, sensor systems, data processing, software development, transport engineering, and military medicine.
Autonomous Casualty Care Chain
The system operates through a multi-phase autonomous process. In the search and rescue phase, a thermal-imaging reconnaissance drone autonomously locates the casualty, before a second drone equipped with millimeter-accurate radar technology detects respiration to confirm that the casualty is alive.
For ground evacuation, a THeMIS Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) fitted with a Patient Box and the iMEDCAP Autonomy Kit autonomously navigates to the casualty. The kit includes dual LiDAR sensors, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), satellite navigation antennas, and advanced navigation algorithms, enabling the vehicle to dynamically re-plan its route in real time using live reconnaissance data and continue operating when GNSS signals are blocked or jammed.
The iMEDCAP Patient Transport Box contains sensors for casualty monitoring, including a 3D body scanner, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) sensors, a diagnostic camera, a blood detector, and an eye movement sensor. It also incorporates an autonomous robotic arm system capable of administering autoinjectors, applying a smart tourniquet, and relieving tension pneumothorax remotely. Diagnostic data is relayed in real time to a remote physician, who must authorize any invasive intervention, while vital signs are also transmitted to command and control elements and medical treatment facilities.
At the Casualty Collection Point, the patient transport box is transferred to the Avilus Grille Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for aerial evacuation to the nearest medical facility. The electrically powered Grille carries a maximum payload of 175 kilograms, offers a range of 50 kilometers, and can be deployed by two personnel in approximately 15 minutes.
