Avidrone Inc. claimed the DARPA Lift Challenge crown on Sunday, flying the Katana—a conventional single‑main‑rotor helicopter that weighed 13.3 kg and lifted 51 kg of cast iron around the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The record‑setting run achieved a payload‑to‑weight ratio of 3.84:1, the best of the week and far below the 4:1 threshold set by DARPA.

Because the top score fell short of 4:1, the prize money was halved; Avidrone received $1.25 million instead of the advertised $2.5 million. MTech Operations LLC earned second place at 3.64:1 for $750,000, and Xtreme Aerial Concepts finished third at 3.45:1 for $500,000. None of the 61 teams that flew met the 4:1 goal, underscoring the energy‑density challenge for battery‑electric heavy‑lift drones.

The Katana’s success proved that a classic helicopter layout can outperform exotic multirotor concepts when the metric is pure lift. Battery‑electric propulsion components—Titan Batteries, Scorpion Power System motors, Falcon Propeller blades, and Calian GNSS antennas—were assembled on a custom platform, demonstrating that 3.84:1 lift over five nautical miles is achievable.

DARPA’s recap highlighted the event as "one new world record" and emphasized that the 4:1 wall remains a hard limit for battery‑powered heavy‑lift aircraft.

The award’s structure and the competition’s outcome will shape future drone design, especially for applications like agriculture where payload capacity is critical.