UAS Challenge 2027
UAS Challenge 2027
28 June - 1 July 2027
BMFA Buckminster, UK
Registration now open
£1,175+ VAT per team
Now in its 13th year, the UAS Challenge is recognised as the world's largest and longest-running UAS competition and attracts top university talent from around the world. The event provides a platform for students to test advanced aerospace technologies, demonstrate engineering excellence, and compete in a highly realistic mission environment.
Challenge overview
Starting each October, university student teams must design and build an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) that will be required to operate autonomously while navigating waypoints, carry out a simulated aid mission, and return to base via a defined route.
Teams will then take part in the final fly-off event in June of the next year, providing a chance to demonstrate the efficiency, manoeuvrability and sustainability of their UAS and showcase their work in formal presentations.
UAS Challenge 2027
The ruleset for the UAS Challenge 2027 is now available and will task teams to design, build and demonstrate a fire-fighting UAS, capable of carrying out a water drop over a specific target.
Registration is open until 30 October 2026; register your team today and get ready to learn, build, and fly!
UAS Challenge 2026 in numbers
450+ students
50+ teams
85+ volunteers
16 countries
4 days flying
UAS Challenge Partners and Sponsors
The Challenge
Teams are required to undertake a full design and build cycle of a UAS with specific mission objectives, before competing in a final four day ‘fly-off’ event at the BMFA Buckminster site in the UK.
The competition is a 9-month long project with phased stages of completion that require strict adherence and assessment to qualify. Professionals in aerospace engineering and flight safety will assess the projects to ensure safety and technical competence throughout the competition.
What can you get from UAS Challenge?
Put your engineering knowledge to the test with a competition as close to the real world as possible
Gain experience in designing, manufacturing and testing a product
Improve your team-working, project management, budgeting and presentation skills
Network with hundreds of like-minded students from universities worldwide
Learn more about the cutting-edge of UAS and drone technologies
Meet potential employers during the live fly-off and team mentoring opportunities
Complement your academic studies with practical applications of course topics
Enhanced career opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students
Engage with industry partners in your curriculum and research activities
Integration with university curriculum
The competition encourages students to follow a system engineering process, through requirements generation, design, manufacture, verification, and the final validation at the competition event. This can be integrated, including coursework exercises, into one or more units covering:
- Systems engineering
- Team projects
- Design projects
- Research projects
- Business/professional studies
- Aerodynamics/performance
