Rethinking Medevac: Autonomy for a Contested Pacific | The Pair Program Ep103

Rethinking Medevac: Autonomy for a Contested Pacific | The Pair Program Ep103

What happens when a wounded service member needs care, but a helicopter cannot reach them? Today’s guests, Major Sarah Blackthorne of the National Guard Bureau and Ben Pinx of Lyntris, explore whether autonomous vessels could deliver blood, medical supplies, and eventually patients across contested waters. Drawing on a Northern Strike exercise, they discuss:

• Why traditional casualty evacuation may fail in the Indo-Pacific
• How to deliver blood when aircraft cannot fly
• What happened when a team tested loading a patient onto an autonomous vessel
• The small design change that made loading easier for medics
• The ethical decisions involved in moving patients without a crew
• What a successful demonstration still cannot prove about real-world use

About Major Sarah Blackthorne: Sarah is a military healthcare leader in the National Guard Bureau’s Joint Surgeon’s Office. A registered dietitian with an MBA, she brings clinical and healthcare administration experience to medical readiness, policy, and training. As a medical planner for Northern Strike, she has helped prepare teams to deliver care when evacuation is delayed, supplies are limited, and they must operate under threat.

About Ben Pinx: Ben is Principal for Technology & Mission Solutions at Lyntris and previously led its Sensors & Autonomous Solutions business segment. His work spans autonomous platforms, sensing, command and control, and the delivery of technology for defense missions. Before joining industry, he held senior U.S. Army roles, including Chief of Experimentation at Army Futures Command, where he helped connect emerging technologies with operational needs.

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