US Army tests autonomous SMETs and drones for casualty evacuation in Indo-Pacific

The article describes US Army medical units shifting from the “Golden Hour” model toward prolonged field care and modular, distributed medical support for an Indo-Pacific fight, including shipboard forward surgical stabilization. It highlights experimentation with autonomous systems for medical logistics and casualty movement—using SMET uncrewed ground vehicles and drones to deliver blood/supplies, improve situational awareness, and potentially move patients via coordinate-based routing in contested environments.