The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the main research and development hub for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), believes that small uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, ...

Through its Tactical Technology Office (TTO), DARPA wants to move drones to the next level with its Lift Challenge – a US$6.5-million competition aimed at creating small drones capable of lifting ...

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) issued a challenge, the DARPA Lift Challenge, in October 2025 to develop novel drone designs that have greater payload-to-weight ratio. DARPA, which ...

Battery technology is on the cusp of enabling high-performance flight applications. DARPA just released a “Lift Challenge” for drones, with a prize pool of $6.5M. DARPA is hosting a live webinar on ...

DARPA has initiated a $6.5m industrial competition to design a concept for a vertical heavy-lift drone, aiming to overcome what has hitherto been an unavoidable trade off between payload and weight.

DARPA has launched a prize challenge to demonstrate multicopter uncrewed aircraft that can carry payloads more than four times their weight in a stated goal of tapping into the U.S. “garage innovator” ...

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — The Pentagon’s research arm is tapping into American innovation to design a drone that can carry more than four times its weight, a breakthrough capability that could be ...

The Pentagon’s secretive technology incubator has launched its latest X-plane competition, this time with an eye toward identifying concepts for a highly efficient uncrewed cargo drone. The US Defense ...

Olympic barbell weights will be used as the drone’s payload for the DARPA Lift Challenge flyoff competition in mid-2026. Credit: DARPA Pentagon neglect played a key role in China gaining global ...

To aid in logistics and resupply missions, DARPA wants to reimagine how drones lift and carry payloads. Check out the development agency’s Lift Challenge. Military ...