Every DroneXL story tagged “Heavy Lift Drones” — newest first.
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.
More than 90 teams are flying the DARPA Lift Challenge at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force through August 9, chasing a 4:1 payload-to-weight ratio for a share of $6.5 million. DARPA's own prize rules cut the top three awards in half if nobody clears 4:1, and the agency still has not resolved what the FCC Covered List means for the parts these American teams built with.
A DJI FlyCart 100 spent the 2026 Everest season hauling more than 22,000 pounds of oxygen, rope, ladders and trash across the Khumbu Icefall, cutting a deadly six-to-eight-hour Sherpa trek to an eight-minute drone flight.
One email with the drone news that matters — DJI, FAA, public safety, and everything in between, straight from the newsroom. No spam, no fluff.
