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

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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:

The GoAERO competition is a major initiative challenging nearly 200 teams to design and build a new generation of automated emergency response aircraft to address critical shortcomings in current systems.
Participants are developing innovative eVTOL concepts that combine the advantages of helicopters and drones, aiming for autonomous operation, heavy payloads, and effective deployment in diverse emergency scenarios.
Beyond GoAERO, the article highlights a growing trend in the industry and recent regulatory changes that are accelerating the integration of autonomous and remotely piloted aircraft into public safety and emergency services.

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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.