Hunter Weiss(@Hunter_Weiss):Anyone else following the DARPA Lift Challenge? $6.5M in prize money to build a drone that can: - Stay under 55 lbs - Take off with a 110 lb minimum payload (4x its weight) - Fly 4 nautical miles loaded (12 laps) - Drop the payload - Fly 1 more nautical mile empty (3 laps) - Finish inside a 30-min window Top 3 teams split the full prize as long as they clear the 4:1 ratio. Most heavy-lift drones can barely lift their own weight. DARPA wants 4x. That's never been done.

Hunter Weiss

@Hunter_Weiss

film + motion for ai, defense & tech startups · @weissvideo

Joined April 2011

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Hunter Weiss@Hunter_Weiss

2026.08.05 15:58

Anyone else following the DARPA Lift Challenge? $6.5M in prize money to build a drone that can: - Stay under 55 lbs - Take off with a 110 lb minimum payload (4x its weight) - Fly 4 nautical miles loaded (12 laps) - Drop the payload - Fly 1 more nautical mile empty (3 laps) - Finish inside a 30-min window Top 3 teams split the full prize as long as they clear the 4:1 ratio. Most heavy-lift drones can barely lift their own weight. DARPA wants 4x. That's never been done.