DARPAConnect

DARPA Lift Challenge: Revolutionizing Heavy Vertical Lift Aviation

DARPA Lift Challenge: Revolutionizing Heavy Vertical Lift Aviation DARPA is calling on innovators to help revolutionize vertical lift. The DARPA Lift Challenge offers $6.5 million in prizes to teams that can design drones capable of carrying payloads more than four times their own weight -- a breakthrough that could transform how drones are used for both military and civilian missions. From battlefield logistics to disaster response, this Challenge taps into the American spirit of innovation -- encouraging students, independent inventors, and industry to push the limits of aerodynamic design, propulsion, and materials science. The competition is slated for Summer 2026 , with the application period tentatively opening on January 5, 2026 . Learn More

Promethean Clay Proposers Day

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will host an in-person Proposers Day in support of DARPA Program Solicitation (PS) for Promethean Clay on February 25, 2026, at the DARPA Conference Center, 675 N. Randolph Street, Arlington, VA 22203 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. DARPA anticipates releasing the DARPA-PS-26-16 prior to Proposers Day. If released, the PS will be made available at https://sam.gov/. The goals of the Proposers Day are: (1) To introduce the science and technology community (industry, academia, and government) to the Promethean Clay program vision and goals; (2) To facilitate interaction between researchers with capabilities and interests relevant to the Promethean Clay program goals; (3) To collect questions during the event that DARPA may answer and make available in a Question and Answer document maintained at https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs/Promethean_Clay; and (4) To encourage and promote teaming arrangements among organizations that have the relevant expertise, research facilities, and capabilities for executing research and development responsive to the Promethean Clay program goals. The Proposers Day will include overview presentations by government personnel and opportunities for team building among the participants. It is anticipated that recording of the Proposers Day and materials will be posted online at https://www.darpa.mil/research/programs/Promethean_Clay.