The Vertical Lift Challenger: Episode 97

logistics challenge sparked a movement to break a nearly century-old barrier holding back heavy vertical-lift aircraft.

Phillip “Donna” Smith is a program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office. He oversees several of the agency’s aerial drone programs, including the Lift Challenge, a national public competition that began with one simple metric: improve payload-to-weight ratio in vertical aircraft, which currently lift only as much as they weigh.

What began as a hypothesis that these aircraft could lift four times their current weight using more aerodynamic designs, new materials, and better flight controls rapidly became a path to even higher payload efficiency.

Smith shares insights from the 2026 competition and what led to the decision to go for even bigger goals in 2028.

Additional Lift Challenge information, competition recaps, and upcoming milestones are available at www.darpa.mil/lift.

Video playlist for DLC