Electronic Design Weekly: Aug. 17, 2026 - DARPA Lift Challenge Results
In This Issue
- Editorial: Electric Aircraft Just Outperformed Fossil Fuels and Nobody Noticed
- Featured Content
- New Products
- DARPA Lift Challenge Roundup
- Multimedia on ElectronicDesign
- Editor's Choice: From the ElectronicDesign Archives
- Editor's Weekly Picks
- Illustrated Engineering
- Electronic Design Word of the Week
- New in Electronic Design's Member Library
- More Electronic Design Weekly
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Editorial: Electric Aircraft Just Outperformed Fossil Fuels and Nobody Noticed
"I, for one, ...am looking forward to seeing >450 Wh/kg fall out of the current [battery cell chemistry] efforts that are planned to go to production. This energy-density threshold (400 Wh/kg is close enough for me) cracks aviation open." -Andy Turudic, Electronic Design, May 19, 2025
When I wrote that, I was aware of, and listed, some of the imminent battery technologies in the next few years, with sampling and pilot lines that started late last year.
During the early days of my design studies for the DARPA Lift Challenge, I called a few of the companies involved in some of the higher-energy-density battery-cell technologies, such as silicon anode. This was to at least pace the energy source mass that other competitors, like the Lock-Martins and others in aerospace, which actually had procurement budgets, would access and use. I discovered that I could reserve battery cells meeting the 400- to 450-Wh/kg threshold for aviation use, and that they could be delivered just in time to build a contender for the Lift Challenge competition.
The price of those pilot-line cells, however, blew my budget. In retrospect, it would have tripled my spend and, on an editor's salary, I made the painful decision to stick with cells that I could afford and had zero lead time.
DARPA's Lift Challenge did indeed have contestants that used these new, high energy density, battery technologies, with battery-powered sUAS (small unmanned aircraft systems — air vehicles weighing less than 55 pounds) earning first, second, and fifth place. Helicopters using Jakadofsky's advanced "Evolution" turbine engine took third and fourth place.
All machines failed mechanically/structurally during their attempts to cross over a 4:1 payload weight to empty aircraft weight ratio ("Lambda"), with fifth place seeming to run out of energy. My design, with conventional cell chemistry, had a Lambda >6 on paper, The good thing now is I don't need to worry over the taxes I'd need to pay on a $2.5M windfall.
For more on the electrifying inflection point for aviation propulsion and to find out about that double asterisk, click here.
Editor's Choice: From the ElectronicDesign Archives
These articles were chosen by the editors at ElectronicDesign that complement the new articles above. They’re included in our regular newsletters.
Bill Wong's Picks of the Week
These are articles I wanted to write but have not gotten around to doing.
- What is model context protocol? @ Control Design
How MCP connects AI agents to field-level PLCs - What “Engineering-Grade AI” Actually Requires @ Machine Design
Most chatbots aren’t up to production standards. Run this test on an AI tool before trusting it to answer engineering questions. - Connect your PLCs to the Internet: What could possibly go wrong? @ Control Design
Why CISA is urging an immediate off-grid shift for OT devices
Andy's Picks from Around the Web
Andy's Video Pick of the Week
With it being Darpa Drones Challenge summation week, what better than to give you a deep engineering dive with an interview with Peter Jakadofsky, designer and builder of the jet turbine power plant that delivered third and 4th place in the contest. Advanced engineering and technology, and probably the peak of what we'll see in liquid-fuelled aviation, going forward.
"I can has breadboard?" - Your Cat
I don’t know why untouched, undisturbed, breadboards stop working. It’s like some little kitten comes around at night and plays with the wires. Gremlin kitten? Share your stories about the same thing after the jump.
See my inspiration for this one after this link.
Or see my whole Engineering on Friday cartoon catalog here.
From the Inventors Comics Collection
New in Electronic Design's Member Library
Are you an Electronic Design member? It’s free and you get access to content like our latest eBooks and editorial webinars. You can also provide feedback about articles.
About the Author
William G. Wong
Senior Content Director - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF
I am Editor of Electronic Design focusing on embedded, software, and systems. As Senior Content Director, I also manage Microwaves & RF and I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, programmers, developers and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.
You can send press releases for new products for possible coverage on the website. I am also interested in receiving contributed articles for publishing on our website. Use our template and send to me along with a signed release form.
Check out my blog, AltEmbedded on Electronic Design, as well as his latest articles on this site that are listed below.
You can visit my social media via these links:
- AltEmbedded on Electronic Design
- Bill Wong on Facebook
- @AltEmbedded on Twitter
- Bill Wong on LinkedIn
I earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masters in Computer Science from Rutgers University. I still do a bit of programming using everything from C and C++ to Rust and Ada/SPARK. I do a bit of PHP programming for Drupal websites. I have posted a few Drupal modules.
I still get a hand on software and electronic hardware. Some of this can be found on our Kit Close-Up video series. You can also see me on many of our TechXchange Talk videos. I am interested in a range of projects from robotics to artificial intelligence.
Roger Engelke Jr.
Managing Editor - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF
Roger manages the websites and print issues for Electronic Design and Microwaves &RF.
Cabe Atwell
Technology Editor, Electronic Design
Cabe is a Technology Editor for Electronic Design.
Engineer, Machinist, Cartoonist, Maker, Writer. A graduate Electrical Engineer actively plying his expertise in the industry and at his company, Gunhead. When not designing/building, he creates a steady torrent of projects and content in the media world. Many of his projects and articles are online at element14 & SolidSmack, industry-focused work at EETimes & EDN, and offbeat articles at Make Magazine. Currently, you can find him hosting webinars and contributing to Electronic Design and Machine Design.
Cabe is an electrical engineer, design consultant and author with 25 years’ experience. His most recent book is “Essential 555 IC: Design, Configure, and Create Clever Circuits”
Cabe writes the Engineering Life & Engineering on Friday blog on Electronic Design.
See Cabe's cartoons & comic strips here.
James Morra
Senior Editor
James Morra is the senior editor for Electronic Design, covering the semiconductor industry and new technology trends, with a focus on power electronics and power management. He also reports on the business behind electrical engineering, including the electronics supply chain. He joined Electronic Design in 2015 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.
Andy Turudic
Technology Editor, Electronic Design
Andy Turudic is a Technology Editor for Electronic Design Magazine, primarily covering Analog and Mixed-Signal circuits and devices and also is Editor of ED's bi-weekly Automotive Electronics newsletter.
He holds a Bachelor's in EE from the University of Windsor (Ontario Canada) and has been involved in electronics, semiconductors, and gearhead stuff, for a bit over a half century. Andy also enjoys teaching his engineerlings at Portland Community College as a part-time professor in their EET program.
"AndyT" brings his multidisciplinary engineering experience from companies that include National Semiconductor (now Texas Instruments), Altera (Intel), Agere, Zarlink, TriQuint,(now Qorvo), SW Bell (managing a research team at Bellcore, Bell Labs and Rockwell Science Center), Bell-Northern Research, and Northern Telecom.
After hours, when he's not working on the latest invention to add to his portfolio of 16 issued US patents, or on his DARPA Challenge drone entry, he's lending advice and experience to the electric vehicle conversion community from his mountain lair in the Pacific Northwet[sic].
AndyT's engineering blog, "Nonlinearities," publishes the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. Andy's OpEd may appear at other times, with fair warning given by the Vu meter pic. His cartoon series, "Inventors", appears each week in Electronic Design Weekly.
