GoAERO Competition Promotes Creation of Automatic Lifesavers

Nearly 200 teams vie to build autonomous emergency response.

Jack Daleo

Monday, November 17, 2025 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Jack Daleo

GoAERO CEO Gwen Lighter (right) poses with Bob Buddecke, president of electronic solutions at Honeywell—one of the competition’s many sponsors. [Courtesy: GoAERO]

Key Takeaways:

GoAERO is a $2 million, three-year competition challenging nearly 200 teams to design and build automated aircraft for various emergency response scenarios, including disaster relief and casualty evacuation.
The initiative addresses critical needs in emergency services, aiming to overcome limitations of traditional ground transport, helicopters, and drones by developing hybrid aircraft capable of delivering responders, patients, and supplies faster and more effectively.
Teams, supported by sponsors like NASA and aerospace experts, are developing innovative aircraft concepts—such as remotely piloted or autonomous eVTOLs—that blend the capabilities of helicopters and drones for deployment in diverse environments.
This competition is part of a broader industry push, facilitated by evolving regulations, to integrate autonomous aircraft into public safety and emergency response, with a final fly-off planned for 2027 to determine a grand prize winner.

See a mistake? Contact us.

More than 1,600 university students, engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and other participants are vying to design and build a new generation of emergency response aircraft. And the competition is heating up.

September marked the submission deadline for Stage 2 of GoAERO (Aerial Emergency Response Operations): a three-year challenge that has tasked nearly 200 teams with creating automated aircraft for disaster relief, aerial firefighting, casualty evacuation, and any number of emergency scenarios. Up for grabs is $2 million in prize money—and the opportunity to save countless lives.