Edwards Launches “Game of Drones” to Fast Track Drone Dominance

Edwards Air Force Base has officially entered its competitive era. No dragons, no thrones, just rotors, radios, and a very real desire to move faster than bureaucracy usually allows.

From Dec. 8 to 12, the Experimental Test Force, working with the Defense Contract Management Agency’s US-X unit, hosted the first-ever “Game of Drones” on the vast, unforgiving canvas of Rogers Dry Lake, as they publish a press release.

Six industry partners joined engineers from the Air Force Research Laboratory to put small unmanned aerial systems through live experimentation, the kind with dust, wind, and consequences.

This was not a trade show. No carpet, no swag bags, and no one pretending a mockup is “mission ready.”

From Concept to Flight in Four Months

As modern battlefields become more crowded, unpredictable, and expensive, the Department of War has made its expectations clear. Faster testing, faster acquisition, faster production. The buzzword is Drone Dominance, and “Game of Drones” is what happens when someone actually tries to deliver on it.

The event operated on a compressed timeline that would normally give a traditional program office hives. Less than four months from idea to execution. That alone makes it notable. In defense circles, that qualifies as warp speed.

Using Cooperative Research and Development Agreements from the 412th Test Wing, participating companies were able to design, 3D print, modify, and fly sUAS platforms almost in real time.

Experiments covered everything from command and control interoperability to counter-drone concepts, rapid field manufacturing, and autonomous swarming. Yes, swarms. The sci-fi kind, but with clipboards nearby.

Why Edwards Works

Edwards Air Force Base brings a few unfair advantages to the table. Vast restricted airspace. A lakebed that forgives hard landings. Deep benches of test talent. And infrastructure like Large Area Maintenance Shelters sitting right next to the action.

It is one of the few places where you can break things, learn from it, and fly again without a six-month meeting to explain why.

That environment matters. Real-time feedback between operators, engineers, and industry helps the joint services quickly identify which systems deserve a future and which ones deserve a polite thank-you email.

Feeding the Blue List

One of the key outcomes of “Game of Drones” is expanding the Department of War’s Blue List. This is the fast lane for approved unmanned systems, allowing units to select and field drones without reinventing the approval process every time.

In other words, fewer binders, more batteries.

The Experimental Test Force, part of the 412th Test Wing’s Airpower Foundations Combined Test Force, continues to focus on pulling industry closer to operational reality. Small drones, advanced sensors, and emerging tech all get their moment under the desert sun.

“Game of Drones” is set to return in March 2026. No word yet on alliances, betrayals, or dramatic finales. Just more drones, more data, and a little less patience for slow progress.

DroneXL’s Take

This is what defense innovation should look like. Less theater, more testing. “Game of Drones” works because it treats speed as a requirement, not a slogan, and experimentation as something you do in the dirt, not in PowerPoint. If Drone Dominance is the goal, Edwards is proving that you do not get there by talking faster, but by flying sooner.

Photo credit: Christian Raterman