DARPA Lift Challenge: Lift Beyond Limits

As military missions become more complicated, warfighters need more capable drones to use across diverse scenarios. The same also applies to civilian applications, like infrastructure inspection, package delivery, and disaster response.

Current multirotor drones, also known as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), provide simplicity, affordability, and ease of operation; however, their primary limitation is their low payload-to-weight ratio, which typically falls at 1:1 or less.

The DARPA Lift Challenge aims to shatter the heavy lift bottleneck, seeking novel drone designs that can carry payloads more than four times their weight, which would revolutionize the way we use drones across all sectors. 

By offering $6.5 million in prize money, the Lift Challenge seeks to incentivize university researchers, independent innovators and industry to set a new standard in vertical lift performance.

Contributor Portal Now Open

We created the Contributor Portal to connect U.S.-based companies with Lift Challenge competitors. Companies interested in supporting the future of drone technology are welcome to advertise available resources for the competing teams designing the next generation of heavy vertical lift aviation. 

Competitors who require additional resources to enhance their drone designs may voluntarily use the portal to identify potential partners to meet their needs.

Visit the Contributor Portal 

Disclaimers

• The portal is intended solely to facilitate connections between companies and competitors who may require additional resources
• A company’s presence on the portal does not imply endorsement by DARPA or the U.S. Government.
• Using the resources offered by Contributors is not a requirement for competing in the Challenge. Competitors. are free to acquire resources from other companies for their designs.