Australian drone pilots swoop to victory at US-hosted Military International Drone Racing Tournament

Air

10 June 2026

Photo: Supplied

Australian drone pilots have secured another crucial win at the seventh Military International Drone Racing Tournament held in the United States.

International military teams flew to Lewis in New York state for the Military International Drone Racing Tournament (MIDRT) from 1 to 4 June this month.

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Australia placed first in the racing section of the tournament, ahead of international teams from the United Kingdom, which came in second, and the USA in third. In addition, an Australian Army drone pilot achieved the fastest time at the drone racing series.

Australia tied with the United Kingdom in the tactical component of the tournament.

MIDRT USA included open class drone racing on a purpose-built first-person-view drone course, tactical scenarios, industry participation and international military collaboration.

Capability-based scenarios included an aerial point defence, moving vehicle interception and fixed infrastructure long-range engagement.

“(Under the aerial point defence) BLUEFOR defends a fixed point against an inbound REDFOR aircraft approaching from 3km away. Success is confirmed by cutting the streamer on the REDFOR aircraft before it breaches a 500 m perimeter,” according to the tournament.

“(Moving vehicle intercept) teams identify a high-value target in a moving military convoy and execute a simulated kinetic strike before it exits the defined area of operations.

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“(Fixed infrastructure long-range engagement) teams conduct a simulated long-range precision strike on a static infrastructure target at approximately 2km, with battle damage assessment encouraged as part of the mission.”

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at

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