King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals wins first place at 2026 international drone competition

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals has taken first place at the 2026 International Unmanned Aerial Systems Competition (SUAS) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, marking its second win after claiming the title in 2024.

The university’s multidisciplinary team outperformed 64 other teams and also won the MathWorks-sponsored Simulation Award for technical excellence, in one of the world’s leading collegiate drone and artificial intelligence technology competitions.

This year’s edition, held from September 14 to 17, saw participation from more than 50 educational institutions representing 10 countries, including teams from Cornell, Michigan, Illinois, University of California Irvine, and Warsaw University of Technology.

The university’s team included 15 students from aerospace engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering. They designed, built, and tested an unmanned aerial system capable of autonomous navigation and mission execution, and prepared detailed engineering documentation covering all stages of design and development.

This year’s competition was themed “Storm Response,” focusing on the use of unmanned systems in disaster relief and recovery operations.

The team faced several challenges during preparations, resulting in only five members being present at the competition site, while the rest provided technical and operational support remotely to help meet participation requirements.