Kilmarnock Teens Claim the RTX Drone Crown

Kilmarnock Academy lifted the 2025 RTX Quadcopter Challenge trophy after a strong performance in London at the Honourable Artillery Company grounds. As Manufacturing Management reports, the team flew past the judges and the competition, leaving London East Cadet Wing in second and Abbeygate College in third.

It was a big moment for a group of students who showed that hard work, good teamwork, and a very smart drone idea can take you all the way.

This year had extra weight because it marked the ten year anniversary of the contest. To celebrate the milestone, the organizers handed Kilmarnock Academy a ten thousand pound award to support STEM programs at the school.

That is a very generous way to say thank you for a decade of creativity from young people across the United Kingdom. Ten thousand pounds can buy a lot of propellers, a lot of new tools, or a lot of pizza during late night build sessions.

The organizers did not tell the students how to spend it. They simply handed over the money like proud grandparents at a birthday party.

Over the past decade, more than two thousand students from over two hundred schools and cadet teams have joined the competition. Many took part year after year. The event gives students real experience with drone engineering, systems design, and problem solving.

The program has grown so much that some early participants now work full time at RTX. Imagine building a small drone at fourteen and then one day walking into your first job at the same company that once cheered for you during a school contest. That is the ultimate victory lap.

Students are mentored by experts from Raytheon UK, Collins Aerospace, and Pratt and Whitney Canada. These mentors bring real world engineering problems into the classroom. They show students how to think like designers and how to test ideas like real aerospace teams do.

It is not just about building a cool flying machine. It is about learning how to work together under pressure, how to solve challenges that appear halfway through a build, and how to communicate ideas clearly. These lessons matter long after the props stop spinning.

Local Heroes Theme Brings Creative Ideas

The 2025 theme was Local Heroes. The goal was simple to understand but not simple to win. Students had to design a drone that solves a real problem in their community. It had to be useful, safe, and realistic. It also had to be creative enough to stand out among more than one hundred other entries.

Many teams leaned into rescue ideas. One group designed a mountain support drone that could carry small but important supplies to hikers in trouble. Another group built a drone concept that helped older residents by delivering medication to their homes.

One team created a drone that made the local pharmacist look like a superhero every time it took off with a box of tablets. The students had fun with the theme and used it to imagine drones that do more than take pictures. They wanted to help people.

This year set a new record with one hundred and twelve teams and more than five hundred students. Only fourteen teams reached the national final in London. That alone is an achievement worth celebrating.

Kilmarnock Academy took the top spot with a drone designed to help police officers reduce mobile phone theft. It is clever, practical, and a little bit funny. A drone that stops phone theft is also a drone that could grab a phone before any thief even gets close. It sounds like a flying security guard with very quick hands.

Alex Rose Parfitt, the director of engineering at Raytheon UK, praised the challenge once again. He said it is a vital and enjoyable way for young people to enter STEM fields. He also shared that he has watched students from past contests join the company as engineers. It is proof that these projects do not end after the awards ceremony. They can shape entire careers.

Teamwork and Happy Tears Seal the Victory

Teacher Thomas Campbell has taken his students to the challenge for four years. He said the contest gets bigger and better each time. He also said he could not quite believe his students won this year. He described the moment as a huge joy and shared that some students cried tears of happiness. These are the kind of classroom tears no teacher is upset about.

Robbie, one of the winning students, said the experience inspired him to become an engineer. That is the best result a competition like this can hope for. Inspire young people, give them confidence, and show them that their ideas matter.

DroneXL’s Take

This challenge is one of the best things happening in the drone world. Teenagers are solving real problems, learning real skills, and sometimes outsmarting adults who fly drones every weekend. They are building the next wave of rescue tools, support systems, and clever tech that keeps communities safe. If this is the future of the drone industry, then we are all in very capable hands.

Photo credit: Raytheon UK