Heavy Lift Drones

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Oct 19

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Gray DJI Agras T100 agricultural drone seen from the front against a black background, with folded spray tank, carbon-fiber arms and large motors at each arm tip

Heavy Lift Drones · China

China Puts Big Drone Motors and Props on Its Export License List

From Nov. 18, China requires export licenses for 48-volt heavy-lift drone motors, ESCs and big carbon props, and US buyers get no fast lane.

Haye KestelooOct 196 min read

Six-rotor drone flying low over a dry field with a soldier in a harness hanging beneath it against a pale blue sky

Ukraine

Ukraine Flies Wounded Soldier Out of Kill Zone Under a Bomber Drone

Ukraine's 92nd Assault Brigade flew a wounded infantryman out of a mined position in a harness under a Gurzuf Defence bomber drone lent for free.

Haye KestelooOct 19

Black six-rotor StarGate drone flying low over a dry autumn field with an orange stretcher pod slung beneath its frame

Ukraine

SkyFall Sends Its $50,000 StarGate Medevac Drone to the Front Line

SkyFall's StarGate medevac drone lifts 330 pounds and nets an attacking FPV. A Ukrainian unit now tests it where ground robots take hours.

Haye KestelooOct 16

Mike Yoder of nuWay Ag beside an FAA remote pilot certificate stamped SUSPENDED in red

FAA

nuWay Ag's Yoder Takes FAA Drone Suspension Over Deer and Sled Lifts

nuWay Ag's Mike Yoder says he settled for a 180-day FAA remote pilot suspension after videos of heavy-lift drones hauling a deer, logs and a sled.

Haye KestelooOct 15

Large quadcopter drone carrying a man suspended in midair

Counter-Drone

Korean Drug Lord's Drone Jailbreak Undone by a Viral Test Flight

Park Wang-yeol planned to fly out of a Philippine prison hanging from a 165-pound-capacity drone. A viral rehearsal clip killed the plot.

Haye KestelooSep 16

Man holding a heavy-lift hexacopter drone overhead in a grass field

Technology

DARPA Runner-Up MTech Missed 4:1 By One Overheating Motor

Luke Maximo Bell's build log for MTech's second-place DARPA Lift Challenge run shows heat, not battery capacity, ended the team's 4:1 attempt in Dayton.

Haye KestelooSep 15

AVIDrone Katana unmanned helicopter drone hovering against a clear blue sky, showing its main rotor, long tail boom, tail rotor and four-legged landing gear

Technology

DARPA Doubles Lift Challenge Payload After 5 Of 76 Teams Scored

DARPA brings the Lift Challenge back in summer 2028 with the minimum payload doubled to 220 pounds and the course doubled to 10 nautical miles.

Haye KestelooSep 1

Technology

DARPA Pays Half As A Conventional Helicopter Wins The Lift Challenge At 3.84:1

Avidrone Inc. won the DARPA Lift Challenge at a 3.84:1 payload-to-weight ratio with the Katana, a conventional single-rotor helicopter, and because nobody reached 4:1, the half-prize clause DroneXL reported last week cut every podium payout in two. The result says as much about energy density and American drone policy as it does about lift.

Haye KestelooAug 10

Heavy Lift Drones

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