A vertical-lift challenger takes flight — ep 97

Oct. 1, 2026 — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is using its podcast series to spotlight an ambitious push to overcome what it describes as a near century-old limitation on heavy vertical-lift aircraft. In a new episode of Voices from DARPA, Phillip “Donna” Smith, a program manager in the agency’s Tactical Technology Office, outlines how lessons from this year’s Lift Challenge are informing even more aggressive targets for 2028.

The Lift Challenge is a national public competition focused on boosting the payload-to-weight ratio of vertical aircraft. DARPA frames today’s baseline as vehicles that can carry roughly their own weight. The agency initially hypothesized that advances in aerodynamics, materials, and flight controls could enable vehicles to carry about four times that amount, and it now says the 2026 competition results have opened a path to still higher payload efficiency.

Smith, who oversees several of DARPA’s aerial drone efforts including the Lift Challenge, discusses what the 2026 field demonstrated and why the program is raising its sights for the next iteration. Additional information, competition recaps, and upcoming milestones are available at www.darpa.mil/lift, and the episode is posted on the Voices from DARPA podcast page.

The initiative reflects growing military and civilian interest in heavier-lift vertical flight for missions such as contested logistics, disaster response, and austere resupply, where moving more cargo per sortie can reduce risk, cost, and time. DARPA’s competition model is intended to draw in nontraditional teams and accelerate the transition of promising designs and controls into flight testing ahead of the 2028 goals.